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Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell another $15 million to an alarming level of $6.7 billion, data released on Thursday showed. This is the lowest level of SBP-held reserves since January 2019.
Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $12.57 billion as of December 9, 2022, said the SBP. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks clocked in at $5.87 billion.
“SBP’s reserves did not record any major change during the week ended on Dec 9, 2022, and closed at $6.7 billion,” said the central bank.
Last week, foreign exchange reserves held by the SBP fell $784 million to $6.715 billion.
Falling reserves have increased worries over Pakistan’s ability to meet debt obligations, and increased perceived default risks, especially at a time the country is in the midst of an economic crisis and recovering from devastating floods that killed over 1,700 people.
In another development, Pakistan has signed a $772 million loan agreement for flood relief with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), taking the total loan for the year to $2.7 billion with the agency.
Ayaz Sadiq, the minister for economic affairs, and Yevgeniy Zhukov, the director general of the ADB, reportedly saw the signing of five loans totaling $772.6 million for irrigated agriculture projects, skill development, and flood rehabilitation across Pakistan.
