Foreign exchange reserves increase up to $12.3bn

KARACHI: The Foreign exchange of Pakistan held by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has been increased by 3 percent and jumped to $12.3 billion today (Thursday).

According to the data released by the central bank, the foreign exchange increased by 3 percent on a weekly basis.

The foreign currency reserves were recorded at $ 12,273.7 million, up to $359 million compared with $ 11.915.2 million in the previous week.

Overall, liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country stood at $18,644.5 million and net reserves held by banks amounted to $6,370.8 million.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) released the first loan tranche of $991.4 million to Pakistan in July 2019, which helped bolster the reserves. In late December, Pakistan received the second loan tranche of around $454 million.

Foreign investment of over $2 billion in the debt market also played an important role in increasing foreign currency reserves.