KARACHI – Pakistan liquid foreign reserves register yet another decline asthe country is heading towards a financial crisis.

The Foreign Reserves stood at $17.005 billion after registering a declineof $74 million.

Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) soared to $10.369 millionafter witnessing an increase of $19 million, whereas reserves of otherbanks dropped by $94 million to $6.636 billion.

Pakistan is on the verge of a balance-of-payments crisis, which threatensthe stability of its currency and its ability to repay debts or pay forimports. Its budget deficit has grown steadily over the past five years,from four per cent to 10pc of GDP.

Imports have skyrocketed, mainly due to rising oil prices. Between July2017 and March, about 70pc of the country’s import bill was for energy,machinery and metals, according to a State Bank of Pakistan report.Meanwhile, exports – mainly textiles – have increased only slightly.

As a result, the foreign currency reserves have declined to about $10.3billion, according to recent figures given by the caretaker government.

This covers less than two months of imports, analysts say. Meanwhile therupee has been devalued four times since December, fuelling inflation.