SBP Reserves Fall by Over $200 Million to $7.18 Billion

The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell by $217 million on a weekly basis, according to data released by the central bank on Thursday. On November 17, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $7.180 billion, down $217 million compared to $7.397 billion on November 10. Overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $12.302 billion, down $233 million over the previous week. The net reserves held by banks stood at $5.122 billion, registering a decline of $16.5 million during the week. Last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistan on the first review of a $3 billion package. The approval from IMF’s Executive Board will see the country receive a $700 million tranche. It is pertinent to mention here that the government is required to increase central bank’s reserves to $9.1 billion by June 2024. The $9.1 billion level was agreed by the government during the recent review talks with the IMF.