KARACHI: The country’s total liquid foreign exchange reserves further fell by $342 million due to external debt servicing.

According to a weekly report issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Thursday, the total liquid foreign exchange reserves held by the country declined to $ 13.247 billion as of Oct 7, 2022 from $13.588 billion as of September 30, 2022.

SBP-held foreign exchange reserves decline $278mn to $8.35bn

During the week under review, the SBP’s reserves decreased by $ 303 million to $ 7.597 billion compared to $7.9 billion a week earlier. According to the SBP, this decrease was entirely attributed to external debt repayments, which included repayment of a commercial loan and interest payment on Eurobonds.

Similarly, net foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks also plunged by $39 million to $5.65 billion at the end of last week.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022