According to information issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday, the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves increased by 12.7% week over week to $4.3 billion.
The SBP’s foreign exchange reserves were $4,301 million on March 3, 2023, an increase of $487 million from $3,814.1 million on February 24.
The central bank ascribed the increase in foreign exchange reserves to the acquisition of a $500 million commercial loan from China for the government of Pakistan.
The total amount of the country’s liquid foreign exchange reserves, which also includes the net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, was $9,754 million. The total amount of net reserves held by banks was $5,453 million.
According to Fahad Rauf, Head of Research at Ismail Iqbal Securities, “continued increase in foreign currency reserves hinged on the renewal of the IMF loan programme and the entry of new financing from other multilateral and bilateral creditors.