SBP-held foreign exchange reserves decrease $239mn to fall below $9bn
- Central bank attributes decrease in reserves to external debt repayments
Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decreased by $239 million on a weekly basis, clocking in at $8.896 billion as of June 21, data released on Thursday showed.
Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $14.207 billion. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5.311 billion.
The central bank cited external debt repayments as the reason for the decrease in the foreign currency reserves.
“During the week ended on 21-June-2024, SBP reserves decreased by US$ 239 million to US$ 8,895.8 million due to external debt repayments,” it said.
Last week, Pakistan’s central bank reserves had increased by $31 million.
SBP reserves jumped by $1.114 billion in May to reach above $9 billion after nearly two years.
The increase in the dollar stockpile had come in line with reflection of the last tranche of $1.1 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for its $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement.
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