November 23, 2023 (MLN): The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell by $216.7 million or 2.93% WoW to $7.18 billion during the week ending on November 17, 2023, according to the data released by the central bank on Thursday.
The central bank cited debt repayments as the reason for this decline.
Similarly, the country's total reserves diminished by $233.2m or 1.86% WoW to $12.3bn.
The reserves held by commercial banks diminished by $16.5m or 0.32% WoW to $5.12bn.
In a recent development, Pakistan has secured initial approval from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the release of the next loan tranche under the current $3bn loan program.
Pending approval by the IMF's Executive Board, the agreement will grant Pakistan access to SDR 528m, which is around $700m.
To note, towards the end of FY23, the IMF being a last resort saved Pakistan from a sovereign debt default with a $3bn Stand-by Arrangement (SBA).
The initial disbursement of $1.2bn from the IMF, alongside $3bn bilateral inflows from the Arab countries gave a substantial boost to the depleting foreign reserves held by the country.
Consequently, in the current fiscal year, total liquid foreign reserves have increased by $3.14bn or 34.3%.
Meanwhile, the current calendar year has seen an increase of $1.46bn or 13.44%.
