Pakistan’s forex reserves plunge $10mln over the week

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $10 million to $11.51 billion in the week that ended on June 6, the central bank said on Thursday.

The State Bank of Pakistan’s reserves edged up to $8.20 billion from $8.18 billion a week earlier, while reserves held by commercial banks fell to $3.31 billion from the previous week at $3.34 billion, the State Bank of Pakistan said.

Foreign reserves hit a record high of $16.5 billion in October 2007 but fell steadily to $6.6 billion by November last year, largely because of a soaring import bill.

Pakistan agreed in November to an International Monetary Fund emergency loan package of $7.6 billion to avert a balance of payments crisis and shore up reserves.

Courtesy: Reuters