Pakistan foreign reserves show stability amid minor fluctuations

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported a decrease of $15 million in liquid foreign reserves for the week ending January 3, bringing the total to $11.695 billion.

Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks remained steady at $4.683 billion, bringing the country’s overall reserves to $16.378 billion.

In the previous week ending December 27, SBP reserves had fallen by $143 million, totaling $11.71 billion. Despite these minor fluctuations, Pakistan's foreign reserves have remained stable, providing an import cover of 2.5 months.

Overseas Pakistanis remitted a record $14.8 billion in the first five months of the current fiscal year, marking a 34% increase compared to the same period last year.

Analysts suggest that this consistent growth in remittances could offer regulators greater flexibility in managing repatriation outflows.

Recent months have seen significant improvement in Pakistan's current account, with remittances playing a crucial role in achieving current account surpluses in six of the last nine months, effectively offsetting trade deficits.