KARACHI: Pakistan's forex reserves shot up by nearly $1,500 million after the cash-strapped nation received funds from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a statement from the central bank said Thursday.
In a handout, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said that during the week ending on October 28, its reserves increased by $1,473 million or $19.8 to $8,912.9 million — as compared to $7,439.9 million on October 21.
Overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $14,678.9 million.
Net reserves held by banks amounted to $5,766 million. The central bank cited the receipt of $1,500 million from the ADB.
With the current foreign exchange reserves position, Pakistan has an import cover of fewer than 1.29 months. The reserves’ position is critical for Pakistan which has been desperately seeking dollar inflows to meet its balance-of-payments needs.
A critical level of reserves has caused severe pressure on the Pakistani rupee with the local unit depreciating constantly. Pakistan’s economy faces serious challenges due to decreasing foreign exchange reserves and political instability.
Foreign exchange reserves were decreasing on weekly basis earlier due to an increase in imports and had fallen below $8 billion, which was an alarming situation. However, funds from multi-lateral partners will improve the position.
PTI protests paralysed life in Rawalpindi and Islamabad as authorities sealed off twin cities
“The government has strived hard to bring about economic stability,” says finance minister
KSE-100 index hits another record high of 85,663.97 points after scaling an intraday peak of 85,807 points
KSE-100 index closed at 84,910 mark, gaining 1,378.34 points as investors upped bets on scope of SBP rate cuts
Analysts say significant chunk of foreign supply has been absorbed, giving more confidence to buyers
Jameel Ahmed notes decline in inflation has positively impacted monetary policy
