Karachi November 3 2022: SBP foreign exchange reserves for the week ending October 28 2022, were increased by USD 1,473 million to USD 8,913 million as per data released by the Central Bank.
Central Bank reserves increase as it has received US Dollar 1.5 billion from ADB in value on 26 October 2022 as disbursement of policy based loan for the Government of Pakistan.
At present, SBP reserves stand at the level of USD 8,913 million as of 28th October 2022, compared to USD 7,439 million at the end of the week ending 21st October 2022.
During the same period, foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks increased by USD 44 million to the level of USD 5,766 million as of 28th October 2022.
Overall reserves held by the country witnessed decrease of USD 1,516 million to USD 14,678 million during the week ended 28th October 2022.
Pakistan Central Bank projected that with the completion of the upcoming IMF review and the additional assistance secured from friendly countries, FX reserves are expected to rise to around $16 billion during FY23. To ensure this and to support the Rupee going forward, it will be important to contain the current account deficit to around 3 percent of GDP by moderating domestic demand and energy imports. In addition, it will be critical to keep the IMF program on-track by following through on the agreed fiscal tightening and structural reforms over the next 12 months.