The forex reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan(SBP) rose by 9.76% on a week-on-week basis to $4.4 billion, according to data released by the central bank. According to Arif Habib Limited, the reserves can cover imports of fewer than 0.97 months which is better than last week’s import cover of 0.88 months.
Increase in Forex Reserves Attributed to the Loan Received From Chinese Bank
According to the central bank, the increase in reserves was mainly due to the receipt of $300 million from the Government of Pakistan’s commercial loan. The liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including the net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $9,964.9 million; while the net reserves held by banks amounted to $5,532.4 million.
Ismail Iqbal Securities Head of Research Fahad Rauf, said; “They (FX reserves) are projected to rise to around $7-8 billion by the end of current fiscal year on June 30, 2023.” Meanwhile, Pakistan is looking to revive the stalled program with the International Monetary Fund, while, the global lender is looking to pave the way for the successful completion of the 9th Extended Fund Facility (EFF) review.
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