Forex reserves jump to record high of $23.612bln

KARACHI: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves continued to rise, surging to an all-time high of $23.612 billion during the week ended September 30, following inflows from the IMF as the last tranche under its External Fund Facility programme, the central bank reported on Thursday.

The forex reserves stood at $23.418 billion in the previous week. The country received $102 million proceeds from the IMF.

According to details, the foreign reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan increased to $18.491 billion against $18.395 billion a week ago.

Similarly, the forex reserves of commercial banks rose to $5.121 billion against $5.022 billion in the preceding week.

Analysts said that forex reserves would bolster further, surpassing $24 billion mark due to the issuance of five-year Sukuk in international capital markets on Wednesday.  The government raised $1 billion by floating Sukuk at the historic low rate of 5.5 percent.