Pak forex reserves ease to $17.47bn

KARACHI: Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves fell slightly to $17.47 billion in the week ending June 25, from $17.52 billion a week earlier, State Bank of Pakistan said on Thursday.

Reserves held by the SBP fell to $14.02 billion from $14.11 billion a week ago, while those held by commercial banks rose to $3.45 billion from $3.41 billion, the SBP said in a statement.

Forex reserves have grown steadily thanks to higher export proceeds, as well as record inflow of remittances, hitting an all-time high of $17.95 billion during the week that ended on March 26.

Reserves have since eased slightly on debt repayments.

Remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis crossed $10 billion for the first time, hitting $10.1 billion in the first 11 months of the 2010/11 fiscal year, an increase of 25.20 percent compared with the same period last year, according to SBP data.(Reuters)