KARACHI: The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased by $112 million to $9.403 billion during the week ending on August 23, reported the central bank on Thursday without disclosing the source of this inflow.

In a recent interview, SBP Governor Ahmed Jameel said the government had approached Middle Eastern banks to borrow $4bn. Media reports indicate that the government was experiencing challenges in the rollover of Chinese loans.

At the same time, the IMF executive board seems reluctant to approve the Staff-Level Agreement, which was reached in July, for a new 37-month $7bn Extended Fund Facility unless Pakistan secures debt rollovers from friendly countries.

The total foreign exchange reserves of the country increased to $14.776bn, including holdings of the commercial banks, which slightly dipped by $3m to $5.272bn in the week under review.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2024