Pakistan's foreign reserves decline for second consecutive month

The liquid foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decreased by 1.2% during the week ended December 27, due to external debt repayments.

SBP reserves fell by $143 million, bringing the total to $11.71 billion. Consequently, the country's total liquid foreign reserves stood at $16.41 billion.

Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks amounted to $4.7 billion.

In the previous week ended December 20, SBP’s reserves declined by 228 million to $11.9 billion.

Despite these minor fluctuations, Pakistan's total foreign reserves have remained stable, providing an import cover of 2.5 months.

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

Analysts suggest that the consistent growth in remittances may give regulators the flexibility to better manage repatriation outflows.

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