Central bank records reserves dropping to lowest level since June 2020

Karachi: The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) declined 6.04% on a weekly basis, data released by the central bank showed on Thursday.

On April 1, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $11,319.2 million, down $728 million compared with $12,047.3 million on March 25.

According to the central bank, this decline reflects the repayment of debt.

Total liquid foreign #reserves held by the country stood at US$ 17.48 billion as of April 01, 2022. For details: https://t.co/WpSgomnd3v pic.twitter.com/qzwGVJOsLE

— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) April 7, 2022

"Reserves decrease […] largely due to debt repayment and government payment pertaining to the settlement of an arbitration award related to a mining project," the central bank said.

Overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $17,476.9 million. Net reserves held by banks amounted to $6,157.7 million.