For the third week in a row, the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves decreased by 3.83% in Pakistan.
According to data issued by the SBP on Thursday, as of October 7, the foreign exchange reserves held by the SBP were $7,596.9 million, a decrease of $303 million from $7,899.8 on September 30.
In all, the country maintained $13,246.8 million in liquid foreign currency reserves, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP.
The total amount of net reserves held by banks was $5,649.9 million. The payback of external debt, including interest on Eurobonds and a commercial loan, was mentioned by the central bank as a main factor in the fall.
Pakistan now has less than 1.09 months’ worth of import coverage in its foreign exchange reserves.
Asad Umar, a former minister of planning and?leader of the PTI, criticized the decision-makers, saying: “We have lost more than half the reserves,?which were there when no-confidence motion was filed against us.”
He tweeted, “The crises continue to worsen while the?administration is?too busy closing its corruption cases.”
The Pakistani rupee has been under significant pressure against the local unit due to a critical level of reserves.
However, Ishaq Dar’s appointment as the new finance minister enabled the currency market rebound as well as the rupee gain some momentum.?
The overabundance of dollars on the market aided in the rupee’s 13-day surge. The slow data on worker remittances caused the supply of foreign cash to slow down.
The decrease in inflows altered interbank market sentiment and prompted importers to purchase dollars at the current rate before it climbed in value. Today, the local unit kept losing value and closed at 218.38.
Due to political instability and rapidly declining foreign exchange reserves, Pakistan’s economy is facing significant difficulties.
Due to an increase in imports, foreign exchange reserves are falling each week by $300400 million, which is a worrying development.