Daily Times

Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decreased by $540 million on a weekly basis, clocking in at $10.61 billion as of March 21, data released on Thursday showed. Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $15.55 billion. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $4.94 billion. This brings the SBP reserves to a six-month low, which the central bank attributed to external debt repayments. “During the week ended on 21-Mar-2025, SBP reserves decreased by US$ 540 million to US$ 10,606.8 million due to external debt repayments,” it said. Last week, SBP foreign exchange reserves increased by $49 million. Earlier this week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a statement that its staff had reached a deal with Pakistan authorities for a new $1.3 billion arrangement and also agreed on the first review of the ongoing 37-month bailout programme. Pending IMF’s Executive Board approval, Islamabad can unlock the $1.3 billion under a new climate resilience loan programme spanning 28 months. It will also free $1 billion for Pakistan under the $7 billion bailout programme, which would bring those disbursements to $2 billion. The IMF inflow is expected to boost Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves.