SBP Reserves Plunge by $289 Million Due to Debt Servicing

Foreign reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) witnessed outflows of $289 million in the week that ended on February 18, 2022. The central bank’s weekly report released on Thursday revealed that the country’s total liquid foreign exchange reserves went down by $264.2 million on February 18, 2022, to $23.22 billion, compared to $23.49 billion in the previous week. SBP’s reserves decreased by $289 million to $16.80 billion, compared to $17.09 billion a week earlier. Meanwhile, the net foreign reserves held by the commercial banks stood at $6.41 billion, depicting an increase of $25.1 million on a weekly basis. The decline in foreign exchange is attributed to the payment against debt servicing to various lenders. On the flip side, the Pakistani Rupee (PKR) posted losses against the US Dollar on Thursday’s interbank close. It lost 23 paisas against the dollar, and 7 paisas against both the Saudi Riyal (SAR) and the UAE Dirham (AED). Conversely, it gained 58 paisas against the Canadian Dollar (CAD), 79 paisas against the Australian Dollar (AUD), Rs. 1.38 against the Euro (EUR), and Rs. 2.28 against the Pound Sterling (GBP) in today’s interbank currency market.