Pak forex reserves shrink to $16.88 bln

KARACHI: Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves declined to 16.88 billion dollars in the week ending December 1, compared with 16.96 billion in the previous week, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday.

According to the break up, reserves held by SBP fell to 13.12 billion dollars, compared with 13.20 billion the previous week. Reserves held by commercial banks were flat at $3.76 billion from the previous week.

Foreign exchange reserves hit a record 18.31 billion dollars in the week ending July 30, but have since eased due to debt repayments.

The reserves were boosted in June by inflows of 411million dollars, including a 191.9 million loan from the World Bank, and a loan of $196.8 million from the Asian Development Bank.

Higher export proceeds, and a record inflow of remittances, have also helped support Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves.

According to official data, remittances rose 23.24 percent to 4.3 billion dollars in the first four months of the 2010/11 fiscal year (July-June), compared with 3.50 billion dollars in the same period last year.

Remittances rose to 1.02 billion dollars in October, compared with 855.11 million received in October last year. (Reuters)