Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decreased by $44 million on a weekly basis, clocking in at $8.01 billion as of February 16, data released on Thursday showed.

Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $13.09 billion. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5.08 billion.

The central bank attributed the decrease in the reserves to debt repayments.

“During the week ended on 16-Feb-2024, SBP’s reserves decreased by US$ 44 million to US$ 8,012.8 million due to debt repayments,” it said.

Last week, Pakistan’s central bank reserves had increased by $13 million.