SBP’s Reserves Plunge by $241 Million

Foreign reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) witnessed outflows of $241 million in the week that ended on February 11, 2022, depicting a 1.4 percent dip on a week-on-week basis. The central bank’s weekly report released on Thursday revealed that the country’s total liquid foreign exchange reserves went down by $230.7 million on February 11, 2022, to $23.49 billion, compared to $23.72 billion in the previous week. SBP’s reserves decreased by $241 million to $17.09 billion, compared to $17.33 billion a week earlier. Meanwhile, the net foreign reserves held by the commercial banks stood at $6.39 billion, depicting an increase of $9.7 million on a weekly basis. While the central bank hasn’t explained the reason behind this week’s forex slip, global economic trends suggest various inflationary pressures will continue to pile more pressure on individual economies as the world struggles to control the ongoing oil crisis. Meanwhile, the Pakistani Rupee (PKR) posted gains against the US Dollar on Thursday’s interbank close. It gained 28 paisas against the dollar, 86 paisas against the Euro (EUR), 31 paisas against the Canadian Dollar (CAD), and 7 paisas against both the Saudi Riyal (SAR) and the UAE Dirham (AED). Conversely, it lost 10 paisas against the Pound Sterling (GBP), and 9 paisas against the Australian Dollar (AUD) in today’s interbank currency market.