KARACHI: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves dropped by $206 million to $14.208 billion as of July 29, the central bank data showed on Thursday.
The State Bank of Pakistan’s forex reserves fell by $190 million to $8.385 billion. The reserves of commercial banks declined to $5.823 billion from $5.839 billion in the previous week. The decrease in the SBP’s reserves is due to external debt and other payments, it said in a statement.
The reserves held by the SBP are enough to pay less than two months of imports.
Analysts said the rollover of a $2 billion loan for Pakistan, the revival of the IMF programme, and flows from multilateral and bilateral sources are expected to help shore up foreign exchange reserves. Lower imports are also likely to curb the current account deficit and will help arrest depletion in foreign exchange reserves.
The country’s trade deficit fell 47 percent month-on-month to $2.6 billion in July driven by a drop in imports. Total imports dropped to $4.9 billion in July 2022 from $7.9 billion in the previous month, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics reported. The decline in imports was attributed to a ban on some items and lower petroleum imports.
China's President Xi Jinping applauds during the opening ceremony of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in...
This photograph shows the logo of US multinational technology conglomerate Meta, taken on May 22, 2022. —...
This is a representational image of a person holding gold chains. — AFP/FileKARACHI: Gold prices decreased by...
An employee working at a textile factory in Pakistan's port city of Karachi, on April 7, 2011. — AFPLAHORE: There is...
People shop at a crowded market ahead of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, in the old quarters of Delhi, India on...
Roblox Corp Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Dave Baszucki seen in this image. — X/@DavidBaszucki/FileRoblox...