August 17, 2007	Friday	Sha’aban 3, 1428

KARACHI, Aug 16: Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves rose by $21 million to a record $15,800.6 million in the week ended Aug 11, the central bank said on Thursday. Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan rose to $13,445.5 million, but those held by commercial banks dipped to $2,355.1 million.

Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves have grown steadily over the past few months because of rising foreign investment inflows and higher remittances from Pakistanis abroad.

According to central bank data, Pakistan received a record $5.49 billion from overseas workers' remittances during fiscal year 2006/07, up 19.6 per cent from the previous year.—Reuters