SBP Reserves Surge to $10.7 Billion After IMF Loan 

The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) posted an increase of over $1.1 billion on a weekly basis according to data issued by the central bank on Thursday.  The massive surge in reserves was primarily due to the $1.027 billion loan tranche issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week under the 37-month Extended Fund Facility of $7 billion.  The increase took the reserves held by the central bank to the highest level since April 2022, according to brokerage house Arif Habib Limited (AHL). According to the latest data released by the SBP, on September 27, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $10.702 billion, up $1.168 billion compared to $9.534 billion on September 20.  Overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $15.983 billion, up $1.110 billion over the previous week.  The net reserves held by banks were recorded at $5.281 billion, registering a decline of $58 million during the week.   According to AHL, the increase in reserves has improved Pakistan’s import cover to 1.9 months.