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KARACHI: The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan increased by $17 million every week, taking the total reserves to $7.91 billion as of March 8.
According to the data released by the State Bank, Pakistan had foreign reserves of 13.15 billion dollars. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5.24 billion.
The central bank did not give the reason for the increase in reserves, but during the week ending March 8, the State Bank’s reserves increased by $17 million to $7912.9 million, while the reserves of the Central Bank of Pakistan decreased by $54 million last week.
The IMF has asked Pakistan to do more during the first round of negotiations for the second review of the SBA programme. Sources said that in the first meeting with officials of the Finance Ministry, the IMF expressed concerns over the supply of gas at subsidized rates to fertilizer manufacturers.
The IMF demanded that fertilizer manufacturers stop supplying gas at subsidized rates. The delegation also expressed its concern over the increase in prices of commodities in Pakistan despite stability at the international level.