KARACHI: Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan increased by $30 million to $4.462 billion in the week ending April 20, central bank data showed on Thursday.
SBP did not specify a reason for the increase in the reserves, but analysts said China’s assistance over past few weeks was a major factor in the dollar stockpiles’ improvement. The reserves held by the central bank can hardly cover one month’s worth of imports.
Total reserves of the country increased by $59 million to $10.024 billion, while the reserves of commercial banks rose by $29 million to $5.561 billion.
Any considerable increase in Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, however, is contingent upon the International Monetary Fund loan programme’s revival and an inflow of fresh financing from other multilateral and bilateral creditors.
According to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Pakistan has met all requirements set by the IMF for resumption of the loan programme. The minister said United Arab Emirates had pledged $1 billion in support while Saudi Arabia also informed the IMF that Pakistan to receive $2 billion in financing.
Pakistan is expected to sign a deal with the Saudi Fund for Development soon for an additional $2 billion deposit, according to reports. The pressure on the reserves was reduced by an improvement in the country’s current account balance. Pakistan posted a current account surplus of $654 million in March, against a deficit of $36 million in the previous month. The country’s current account deficit for the first nine months (July through March) of the current fiscal year was $3.4 billion, which was 74 percent lower than the $13 billion deficit for the same period last year.
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