Bureau Report
KARACHI: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) remained steady, recording no major change during the week.
On October 14, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $7,597.2 million compared with $7,596.9 on October 7, data released by SBP showed on Thursday.
Overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $13,250.9 million.
Net reserves held by banks amounted to $5,653.7 million. The central bank cited no reason behind this nominal change.
With the current foreign exchange reserves position, Pakistan has an import cover of fewer than 1.10 months.
A critical level of reserves has caused severe pressure on the Pakistani rupee with the local unit. Pakistan’s economy faces serious challenges due to decreasing foreign exchange reserves and political instability.
Foreign exchange reserves were decreasing by $300-400 million on weekly basis due to an increase in imports and have fallen below $8 billion, which is an alarming situation.
