Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves soar to $8.7b

Islamabad: The State Bank of Pakistan on Thursday reported a significant increase in the country's foreign exchange reserves, reaching $8.7 billion during the week ending July 14, as stated in an official announcement.

This impressive surge comes in the wake of substantial financial inflows to Pakistan.

Pakistan received $2 billion from Saudi Arabia, $1.2 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) through a $3 billion standby arrangement, and an additional $1 billion from the United Arab Emirates, according to the statement issued by the State Bank.

However, the approval of a new $3 billion short-term bailout package from the IMF earlier this month marked a turning point, setting the stage for the recent surge in financial inflows, signifying positive economic prospects for Pakistan.

The total reserves could be further bolstered with the planned rollover of a $600 million loan from China, which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced recently.

This remarkable turnaround in Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves comes after a challenging period. At the beginning of 2022, the reserves had dwindled from $17.6 billion on January 7 to $5.6 billion on December 30 of the same year.

The situation worsened in the new year, reaching its lowest level at $2.92 billion on February 3. Notably, this was the lowest level in nine years, with the last time reserves being below that level recorded in February 2014, at $2.84 billion.