SBP foreign exchange reserves fall to $7.5 billion

SBP foreign exchange reserves fall to $7.5 billion

KARACHI: Official foreign exchange reserves of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) have declined by $327 million by week ended November 25, 2022 leaving import cover of only one and half months.

The official foreign exchange reserves of the SBP fell by $327 million to $7.499 billion by week ended November 25, 2022 as compared with $7.826 billion a week ago.

READ MORE: Pakistan official reserves fall to around 1 ½ months import coverage

The import bill of the country was at $4.71 billion in October 2022, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). According to the month import bill the existing foreign exchange reserves of the SBP have reduced to cover only 1.56 months import payment.

The central bank attributed the decline in official reserves to repayment against external debt.

READ MORE: Pakistan forex reserves inch up to $13.796 billion

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 $12.647 billion.

It is pertinent to mention that the SBP’s reserves witnessed sizeable increase after inflows from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) $1.5 billion on October 26, 2022.

READ MORE: Pakistan FX reserves slip sharply by $958 mn on external payments

The total reserves of the country fell by $267 million to $13.378 billion by week ended November 25, 2022 as compared with $13.645 billion a week ago.

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 $13.850 billion.

READ MORE: SBP’s weekly forex reserves dip by $157 million to $7.44 billion

The foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks however, recorded an increase of $60 million to $5.879 billion by week ended November 25, 2022 as compared with $5.819 billion a week ago.