KARACHI: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have depleted by $2.88 billion in a week to $18.554 billion by week ended March 25, 2022, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday.

The foreign exchange reserves of the country were $21.44 billion by week ended March 18, 2022.

This is seventh consecutive week when the country’s foreign exchange reserves have witnessed consistent decline. The liquid foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan have declined by $5.167 billion since February 04, 2022, when the reserves were at $23.721 billion.

The official foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank recorded a decline of $2.915 billion to $12.047 billion by week ended March 25, 2022 as compared with $14.962 billion a week ago i.e. March 18, 2022.

The SBP attributed the decline to repayment of external debt, including repayment of a major syndicated loan facility from China. The rollover of this syndicated facility is being processed and is expected shortly.

The foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks however recorded a nominal increase of $30 million to $6.507 billion by week ended March 25, 2022 as compared with $6.477 billion a week ago.

The continued decline in foreign exchange reserves highlighted growing pressure on Pakistan’s external account during the period. The central bank’s reserves remained particularly affected by external debt repayments, while commercial banks maintained relatively stable foreign currency holdings.