Karachi December 1 2022: SBP has not placed any restriction (verbal or otherwise) on opening of Letters of Credit (LCs) or contracts for import of crude oil, LNG and petroleum products. Such misinformation is being spread with ulterior motives to create uncertainty in the market.
In fact, SBP ensures timely processing of FX payments through banks related to import of oil and gas products (including LNG) and in accordance with the contractual maturity of the trade documents.
All the LCs/contracts for oil import are being retired on their due date through interbank foreign exchange market without any delay. The same is also evident from trade data released by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in terms of which country’s oil import stood at US$1.48 billion and US$1.47 billion for the month of Sep-22 and Oct-22 respectively.
