December 28, 2023 (MLN): The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) surged by $852.3 million or 12.34% WoW to $7.76 billion during the week ended on December 22, 2023, on account of the receipt of official Government of Pakistan (GoP) inflows.
According to the data released by the central bank on Thursday, the country's total reserves rose by $787.3m or 6.52% WoW to $12.86bn.
The reserves held by commercial banks diminished by $65m or 1.26% WoW to $5.1bn.
In a recent development, Pakistan 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 with the meeting scheduled for January 2024, the agreement will grant Pakistan access to SDR 528m, which is around $700m.
In the current fiscal year, total liquid foreign reserves have increased by $3.7bn or 40.35%.
Meanwhile, the current calendar year has seen an increase of $2.01bn or 18.54%.
