The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) dropped $15 million from last week and stood at $6.7 billion as of December 9, according to data released by the central bank on Thursday.

The central bank’s reserves were last recorded below this level on Jan 18, 2019, when it had some $6.64bn.

Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks now stand at $5.9bn, meaning the country’s total liquid foreign reserves are now $12.6bn.

Last week, forex reserves held by the SBP plunged $784m to $6.72bn during the week that ended on Dec 2.

Analysts said the falling reserves may make it more difficult for the country to repay foreign loans; the remaining amount of $6.7bn is just enough to cover over a month’s imports.

With no clarity on when the International Monetary Fund will complete its ninth review, several experts including Pakistan’s previous finance minister, Miftah Ismail, claim Pakistan still faces the risk of default.

Pakistan entered a $6 billion IMF programme in 2019, which was increased to $7bn earlier this year. The programme’s ninth review is currently pending with remote talks being held between IMF officials and the government for the release of $1.18bn.

However, the release of the latest tranche has been delayed as independent economists believe the government has fallen behind on pre-requisite performance criteria laid out by the IMF.

In a podcast on Dec 8, SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad had said that during the last five months, inflows remained at just $4bn but the figure was expected to rise in the second half of the current fiscal year ending June 2023.

He had added that the SBP paid $1bn and another $1.2bn to two commercial banks, which have agreed to re-lend the same amount in a few days.

According to Ahmad, Pakistan requires $33bn in financing for the ongoing financial year. Out of this, he said, $20bn has been accounted for while Pakistan will have to pay $13bn during the rest of the fiscal year.