SBP said its foreign exchange reserves fell by $354 million to $4.2 billion in the week ended March 24
Published Date – Fri, 3/31/23 at 11:59pm
Islamabad: Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reversed direction, snapping a six-week streak of gains as Pakistan struggled to secure external financing to emerge from its economic crisis, media reports said.
In its weekly bulletin, the SBP said its foreign exchange reserves, which would provide import protection for less than a month, fell by $354 million to $4.2 billion in the week ended March 24, Geo News reported.
Commercial banks held net foreign exchange reserves of $5.6 billion, $1.3 billion more than SBP, bringing the country’s total liquid foreign reserves to $9.8 billion, the statement said.
Pakistan’s $350 billion economy continues to shrink amid financial woes as authorities struggle to reach a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Washington-based bank has been in talks with Pakistani authorities since late January to restore a $1.1 billion loan held since November, part of the $6.5 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) agreed in 2019. part.
IMF funding is crucial for Pakistan to open up other sources of external financing to avoid default on its debt.
A statement from the IMF said that “substantial progress has been made in policy discussions in recent days and that financial assurance is standard in IMF programs,” Geo News reported.
