November 02, 2023 (MLN): The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) rose by $13.6 million or 0.18% WoW to $7.51 billion during the week ended on October 27, 2023, according to the data released by the central bank on Thursday.
On the other hand, the country's total reserves diminished by $79m or 0.62% WoW to $12.58bn.
The reserves held by commercial banks diminished by $92.6m or 1.79% WoW to $5.07bn.
To note, towards the end of FY23, Pakistan secured a $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which saved the cash-strapped nation that was on the brink of default.
The initial disbursement of $1.2bn under the SBA in July 2023, 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 $3.42bn or 37.3%.
However, ever since the boost from the IMF and the Arab countries, fresh inflows seem to have dried up, with the total reserves slowly depleting almost every week.
Meanwhile, the current calendar year has seen an increase of $1.73bn or 15.96%.
