KARACHI: The country’s total liquid foreign exchange reserves rose to $ 14 billion by the end of last week, supported by arrival of inflows from the IMF and other friendly countries.

According to weekly report issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday, the total liquid foreign exchange reserves held by the country surged to $ 14.065 billion as of July 14, 2023 compared to $ 9.838 billion on July 7, 2023.

Overall, some $ 4 billion inflows were arrived into the State Bank’s account during last week. During the week under review, the SBP received $ 2 billion from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, $ 1.2 billion from the IMF and $ 1.0 billion from the United Arab Emirates.

Consequently, the SBP’s reserves increased by $ 4.203 billion to $8.727 billion by the end of last week, ie, up from $ 4.52 billion a week earlier.

The arrival of inflows from the IMF and other friendly countries has not only averted the default risk but also helped reduce the pressure on external account and build the sliding foreign exchange reserves of the country.

Similarly, net forex reserves held by commercial banks surged to $5.338 billion, up by $23 million during last week.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023