KARACHI: Pakistan’s central bank official foreign exchange reserves have depleted below $3 billion, falling about nine years low.
Previously, the official foreign exchange reserves were seen at $2.84 billion on February 07, 2014.
The foreign exchange reserves of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) dropped to dangerous level of $2.917 billion, according to official data released on Thursday.
READ MORE: SBP’s foreign exchange reserves drop to dangerous level of $3.09 billion
The SBP said that its official reserves declined by $169 million to $2.917 billion by week ended February 03, 2022 compared with $3.086 billion a week ago or January 27, 2023.
The SBP said that the decline in foreign exchange reserves were due to scheduled external repayment.
The present level of the official reserves have fallen to provide import cover for only 18 days. The import bill of the country for the month of January 2023 was recorded at $4.856 billion, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
READ MORE: Pakistan’s official forex reserves shrink to only $3.68 billion
The benchmark foreign exchange reserves of a central bank should be at a level to provide three months import cover.
The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank witnessed a record high at $20.146 billion by week ended August 27, 2021. Since then the official reserves of the SBP dropped by $17.229 billion.
READ MORE: Pakistan’s total forex reserves inch up to $10.44 billion
The foreign exchange reserves of the country recorded a decline of $202 million to $8.54 billion by week ended February 03, 2023 when compared with $8.742 billion by week ended January 27, 2023.
The country’s foreign exchange reserves hit all-time high of $27.228 billion on August 27, 2021. Since then the foreign exchange reserves have declined by $18.688 billion.
READ MORE: State Bank’s forex reserves plummet to only $4.34 billion
The foreign exchange reserves of the commercial banks also fell by $33 million to $5.623 billion by week ended February 03, 2023 when compared with $5.656 billion as of January 27, 2023.
