Pakistan foreign exchange reserves register a massive blow
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The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank decreased by over 10 percent on a weekly basis, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday.
On November 4, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $7.957 billion, down $956 million compared to $8.913 billion on October 28.
In a statement, the central bank said that the massive decline in reserves was due to external debt servicing.
The central bank statement said that major external debt repayments executed during the week included repayment of commercial loans. Refinancing of these loans is in the process which will improve foreign exchange reserves in the coming weeks, the statement added.
Overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $13.721 billion. Net reserves held by banks stood at $5.764 billion, registering a decrease of $2 million.
It is pertinent to mention here that last week the central bank reserves had increased significantly due to the receipt of $1.5 billion from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
However, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), on Wednesday, approved a $500 million loan that would stand transferred to Pakistan this month which will likely boost the reserves.