SBP Reserves Plummet by Nearly $400 Million Due to Debt Repayments

The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell by almost $400 million on a weekly basis according to data issued by the central bank on Thursday. According to the latest data released by the central bank, on July 19, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $9.027 billion, down $397 million compared to $9.424 billion on July 12. In a short statement, SBP said that the decline in reserves was due to external debt repayments. Overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $14.335 billion. The net reserves held by banks stood at $5.308 billion, registering an increase of $28 million during the week.