KARACHI: Foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased by a meagre $30 million during the week ended on April 20, while the country’s total reserves crossed the $10bn mark first time in the second half of the current fiscal year.

The central bank on Thursday reported that its forex holdings imp­roved to $4.46bn during the week.

However, the SBP has yet not received the promised inflows from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, while the IMF has kept Pakistan waiting for the release of a $1.1bn tranche despite complying with all the harsh conditions set by the Fund.

Regarding the recent improvement in the SBP reserves, the sources in the financial sector said the central bank keeps buying dollars from banks to improve its forex reserves.

The SBP reported that the forex holdings of the commercial banks were $5.56bn while the country’s total reserves reached $10.024bn during the week.

Earlier, the reserves of the country were $10.845bn in December last year 2022.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2023