KARACHI, Aug 28: The foreign exchange reserves fell to $9.38 billion in the week that ended on Aug 23, from $9.57 billion in the previous week, the State Bank of Pakistan said on Thursday.

The central bank said its reserves fell to $6.01 billion from $6.26 billion previously, while those held by commercial banks rose to $3.37 billion from $3.30 billion.

The reserves hit a record high of $16.5 billion in October last year but have since been depleted by high payments for oil imports, and foreign investors withdrawing money because of the country’s political uncertainty.

The rupee closed firmer at 75.90/76.05 to the dollar on Thursday compared with Wednesday’s close of 76.00/10, data from Reuters showed.

But traders said the long-term outlook for the currency was still uncertain.—Reuters