KARACHI (Daily Point) — As of December 1, Pakistan’s State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) experienced a decrease in its foreign exchange reserves, witnessing a dip of $237 million to reach $7.02 billion.
According to the details, the country’s total liquid foreign reserves, which include commercial banks holding $5.08 billion, stood at $12.1 billion.
The central bank attributes this decline to debt repayments, signaling concerns about economic stability. While there was a slight increase of $77 million in SBP reserves last week, ongoing pressures from repayments, rising import payments due to relaxed restrictions, and a lack of fresh inflows have posed challenges to the reserve position.
This situation raises alarms regarding the stability of the Pakistani rupee and underscores the necessity for measures to reinforce foreign exchange reserves. Despite previous support from the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) $3-billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) and inflows from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, maintaining reserves has proven to be a persistent challenge.
The diminishing reserves, linked to debt repayments and increased import bills, accentuate the urgency for economic reforms to stabilize Pakistan’s economic indicators. The focus on efforts to enhance reserves remains crucial, given the potential impact on the country’s currency and ongoing initiatives aimed at strengthening Pakistan’s economic standing.
