Forex reserves down at $15.126bln

KARACHI: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves declined $768 million or 4.83 percent during the week ended on May 17, 2019, the central bank reported on Thursday.

The country’s forex reserves amounted to $15.126 billion, compared to $15.894 billion last week.

The reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decreased $788 million to $8.057.6 billion due to external debt servicing and other official payments, the SBP said.

On the other hand, commercial banks’ dollar reserves stood at $7.068 billion,

compared to $7.048 billion in preceding week.

As per data published by SBP, Pakistan paid off $5.72 billion as external debt during the first nine months of the current fiscal year (2018/19).

The government repaid $4.13 billion as principal and $1.58 billion as interest accrued on the total debt. The numbers also showed the country cleared $1.95 billion worth of debt during the third quarter, out of which $1.46 billion were paid as principal and $490 million as interest.