Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday reversed their course, snapping their six-week winning streak.
In its weekly bulletin, the SBP said that its foreign exchange reserves have decreased by $354 million to $4.2 billion as of the week ended March 24, which will provide an import cover of less than a month.
The net forex reserves held by commercial banks stand at $5.6 billion, $1.3 billion more than the SBP, bringing the total liquid foreign exchange reserves of the country to $9.8 billion, the statement mentioned.
Pakistan’s $350 billion economy continues to dwindle amid financial woes and the authorities struggle to strike a staff-level agreement with the IMF.
The Washington-based lender has been in talks with the Pakistani authorities since end-January to resume the $1.1 billion loan tranche held since November, part of a $6.5 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) agreed upon in 2019.
The IMF funding is critical for Pakistan to unlock other external financing avenues to avert a default on its obligations.
