Pakistan's forex reserves plunge $956 million to $7.96 billion

Karachi: Dented by debt payments, the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP)'s foreign exchange reserves witnessed a massive decline of $956 million and fell to $7.96 billion, central bank data released on Thursday showed.

Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $13.72 billion. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks clocked in at $5.76 billion after a reduction of $2 million.

“During the week ended on November 4, 2022, SBP’s reserves decreased by $956 million to $7,957.0 million due to external debt servicing,” said the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in a statement.

This leaves the country with an import cover for 1.16 months only.

“Major external debt repayments executed during the week include repayment of government’s commercial loans,” it said.

The central bank further said refinancing of these loans was in the process which would improve foreign exchange reserves in the coming weeks”.