Islamabad, March 27: Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) dropped by $540 million on a weekly basis, reaching $10.61 billion as of March 21, according to data released on Thursday.
The country’s total liquid foreign reserves stood at $15.55 billion, with commercial banks holding $4.94 billion in net foreign reserves.
This decline in SBP reserves brings them to a six-month low, which the central bank attributed to external debt repayments.
The SBP noted, “During the week ended on 21-Mar-2025, SBP reserves decreased by US$ 540 million to US$ 10,606.8 million due to external debt repayments.”
The previous week had seen an increase of $49 million in SBP foreign exchange reserves.
In a related development, earlier this week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that it had reached a deal with Pakistani authorities for a new $1.3 billion arrangement.
The agreement also covered the first review of Pakistan’s ongoing 37-month bailout program.
Pending approval from the IMF’s Executive Board, Islamabad will be able to access the $1.3 billion under a new climate resilience loan program, which spans 28 months.
Read More: SBP Acquires $4.98 Billion from Interbank to Strengthen Forex Reserves
This arrangement will also release an additional $1 billion for Pakistan under the existing $7 billion bailout program, increasing total disbursements to $2 billion.
The expected IMF inflow is anticipated to help boost Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves.
