KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves has witnessed an increase of $66 million to $3.26 billion, data released on Thursday showed.
Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $8.73 billion. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5.47 billion.
“During the week ended on February 17, 2023, SBP’s reserves increased by $66 million to $3,258.5 million,” SBP said in a statement.
Last week, foreign exchange reserves held by SBP increased $276 million to $3.19 billion. This was the first increase in reserves after three weeks.
The forex reserves are expected to get a boost next week as the Board of China Development Bank has approved a $700 million facility for Pakistan, according to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, and the funds could be deposited in the SBP’s account this week.
The central bank reserves, which stood at nearly $18 billion at the start of 2022 but have undergone significant depletion in recent months, underscore the urgent need for Pakistan to complete the next review of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.
