*KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) expressed on Thursday, the declinein Foreign exchange reserves by over $600 million during the week ending onJune 22, the decline is of 5.86% on weekly basis.*
The decline has effected central bank’s reserves to $9.663 billion which isnot sufficient enough to cover two months of imports. The SBP reportedthat $602m were utilized for debt servicing and other official paymentsduring this week.
The country’s overall reserves amounted to $16.244bn.
However, the foreign exchange holdings of the commercial banks have furtherincreased to $6.581bn; a rise of $48m within a week.
Overall, liquid foreign reserves held by the country, including netreserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $16,243.9 million. Netreserves held by banks amounted to $6,581.4 million.
In April, the SBP’s reserves increased $593 million due to officialinflows. Pakistan also raised $2.5 billion in November 2017 by floatingdollar-denominated bonds in the international market in a bid to shore upofficial reserves.
The commercial holdings have been on the rise since June 2017 when theyjumped to $5.258bn from $4.775bn in the previous week.
In the past one year, private holdings have increased by $1.325bn.