Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves decline to $18.59bn

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) revealed Thursday the country's foreign exchange reserves plunged $20mn to $18.59bn.

Pakistan faces an unprecedented economic shock due to the coronavirus pandemic as the country is set to miss almost all the economic targets during the current fiscal year.

The SBP, in its bid to mitigate the effect of the lockdown on the country's economy, had slashed policy rate by to 8%, which was the fourth cut by the bank within two months.

Meanwhile, the SBP said that its reserves stand at $12.07bn after facing a reduction of $55.4mn.

"Private banks' reserves increased by 35 million dollars to 6.52 billion dollars," the SBP added.

Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had assured Pakistan that it would support the country as it faces a financial crunch.

“IMF would continue to cooperate with Pakistan for sustainable economic growth in future,” the Fund’s Resident Representative in Pakistan Teresa Daban Sanchez said in a meeting with Minister for Economic Affairs Khusro Bakhtyar.

Sanchez agreed with the minister for a need to cooperate to overcome challenges emerging out of the novel coronavirus.