The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported a staggering surge of more than 90% in its foreign exchange reserves on a weekly basis. This boost was attributed to substantial inflows from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as revealed in data released on Thursday.
Impressive Growth in Foreign Exchange Reserves
As of July 14, the SBP’s foreign currency reserves reached an impressive $8.727 billion, a substantial increase of $4.2 billion when compared to the $4.524 billion recorded on July 7.
In an official statement, the central bank highlighted the contributions from various sources during the week ending on July 14. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia provided $2 billion, the IMF pitched in $1.2 billion, and the United Arab Emirates contributed $1 billion to the foreign exchange reserves.
Overall Reserves and Bank Contributions
Taking into account the overall liquid foreign currency reserves, including the net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, the total amounted to $14.065 billion. This reflected a significant rise of $4.227 billion compared to the previous week. The net reserves held by banks stood at $5.338 billion, with an increase of $24 million during the same week.
Earlier in the week, the Export-Import (Exim) Bank of China refinanced over $600 million to the SBP, adding further strength to the dwindling reserves of the central bank.
