SBP’s forex reserves see modest increase of $16 million

WEB DESK: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported a modest increase in its foreign exchange reserves, which rose by $16 million over the past week, reaching a total of $9.1 billion as of May 31, according to data released on Thursday.

The total liquid foreign reserves held by the country, encompassing both the SBP and commercial banks, amounted to $14.2 billion. Of this, commercial banks held net foreign reserves of $5.1 billion.

The central bank did not provide specific reasons for the increase in its reserves. The SBP’s statement read: “During the week ended on 31-May-2024, SBP reserves increased by US$ 16 million to US$ 9,109.5 million.”

This follows a decrease of $63 million in the SBP’s reserves the previous week. Notably, last month saw a significant jump in the central bank’s reserves by $1.114 billion, pushing the total above the $9 billion mark for the first time in nearly two years.

This substantial increase was attributed to the receipt of the final $1.1 billion tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under its $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement.

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