Forex reserves decline by $113m; expected to rise next week after addition of IMF proceeds

• Overall liquid foreign currency reserves stand at $13,403.5m.
• Net reserves held by banks amount to $5,706.4m.
• SBP expects position to improve after addition of $1.16bn from IMF.

KARACHI: In line with the dominant trend since the last several weeks, the country’s foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) once again declined by 1.1%.

On August 26, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $7,697.1 million, down $113 million compared with $7,809.9 on August 19, data released by SBP showed on Thursday.

Overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $13,403.5 million.

Net reserves held by banks amounted to $5,706.4 million. The central bank did not cite any reason for the decline.

With the current foreign exchange reserves position, Pakistan has an import cover of fewer than 1.12 months.

In a brief statement, the central bank stated that it received proceeds of $1.16 billion (the equivalent of SDR 894 million) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) on August 31 “which would be included in SBP’s foreign exchange reserves position for the week ending on September 8."