SBP Reserves Up Slightly But Still Not Sufficient to Cover One Month of Imports

The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank increased marginally on a weekly basis, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday. On April 20, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $4.463 billion, up $30 million compared to $4.433 billion on April 14. Overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $10.024 billion, up $59 million over the previous week. The net reserves held by banks stood at $5.562 billion, registering an increase of $29 million during the week. According to Arif Habib Limited, the current reserves are enough for import cover of less than a month (0.98 months to be precise).