SBP Reserves Rise for 3rd Consecutive Week

The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank registered their third consecutive weekly increase, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday. On February 24, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $3.814 billion, up $556 million (or 17 percent) compared to 3.258 billion on February 17. Last week, the central bank reserves went up by $66  million or almost 2 percent compared to 3.193 billion on February 10. Overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $9.267 billion, up $541.4 million over the previous week. The net reserves held by banks stood at $5.453 billion, registering a drop of $14.2 million during the week. The reserves increased on the back of a commercial loan from the China Development Bank. The central bank reserves, which were nearly $18 billion at the start of 2022 but have been significantly depleted in recent months, highlight Pakistan’s urgent need to complete the next review of the International Monetary Fund program.