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.