Karachi September 29 2022: SBP foreign exchange reserves for the week ending September 23 2022, were decreased by USD 341 million to USD 8,006 million as per data released by the Central Bank.
Central Bank reserves decline on external debt and other payments, says SBP in a statement.
Pakistan Central Bank reserves will increase once committed amount of aid for the flood victims starting coming to the country.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will approve funding of over USD 2 billion to support Pakistan’s post-flood relief and resilience activities by end of current year. The ADB is processing another USD 1.5 billion countercyclical support to mitigate the impacts of rising food prices and other external shocks on the poor and vulnerable in Pakistan, which Pakistan is likely to receive in second half of next month.
At present, SBP reserves stand at the level of USD 8,006 million as of 23rd September 2022 compared to USD 8,346 million at the end of the week ending 16th September 2022.
During the same period, foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks increased by USD 33 million to the level of USD 5,756 million as of 23rd September 2022.
Overall reserves held by the country witnessed decrease of USD 308 million to USD 13,762 million during the week ended 23rd September 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.
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