KARACHI: Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell by $36 million to $4.20 billion during the week ending on March 31, announced the central bank on Thursday.

However, the total liquid foreign reserves of the country declined by $56m to $9.8bn while central banks’ holdings dipped by $20m to $5.6bn during the week.

The SBP foreign exchange reserves saw a massive outflow of $354m to $4.244bn from the year’s highest level of $4.598bn it touched in the week ended on March 17.

The central bank held $10.5bn in its foreign reserves in April 2022 when the country was experiencing the worst political turmoil that led to the ouster of the PTI government.

The dollar appreciated by Rs101 against the local currency amid fast dwindling reserves since the inception of the PDM government in April last year.

The greenback gained Rs54 after Ishaq Dar took charge of the finance ministry in September 2022.

Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2023