SBP reserves witness weekly dip of $236.8 million

WEB DESK: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) witnessed a decline in foreign exchange reserves, dropping by $236.8 million, or 3.26 per cent, week over week (WoW), to reach $7.02 billion by the week ending on December 1, 2023, as per data disclosed by the central bank on Thursday.

Simultaneously, the overall reserves of the country experienced a decrease of $285.7 million, or 2.31 per cent of WoW, settling at $12.11 billion.

Commercial banks also saw a reduction in reserves, down by $48.9 million, or 0.95 per cent of the WTO, to $5.09 billion.

It’s worth noting that towards the conclusion of FY23, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stepped in as a last resort to avert a sovereign debt default in Pakistan, providing a $3 billion standby arrangement (SBA).

The initial disbursement of $1.2 billion from the IMF, coupled with $3 billion in bilateral inflows from Arab countries, significantly bolstered the depleting foreign reserves of the nation.

Consequently, in the current fiscal year, total liquid foreign reserves have surged by $2.95 billion, or 32.17 per cent. Meanwhile, the ongoing calendar year has witnessed an uptick of $1.26 billion, or 11.64 per cent.

In a recent development, Pakistan has received preliminary approval from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the disbursement of the next loan tranche under the existing $3 billion loan programme.

Pending approval by the IMF’s Executive Board, this agreement will provide Pakistan access to SDR 528 million, or approximately $700 million.

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