Country’s forex reserves ease to $17.90bn

KARACHI: Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves fell to $17.90 billion in the week ending August 27, from $17.96 billion in the previous week, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Monday.

Reserves held by the SBP fell to $14.45 billion from $14.50 billion in the earlier week, while those held by commercial banks eased to $3.45 billion from $3.46 billion, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.

Foreign exchange reserves hit a record $18.31 billion in the week ending July 30 but have eased since then due to scheduled debt repayments.

The reserves were boosted in June by inflows of $411 million, including a loan of $191.9 million from the World Bank, and another loan of $196.8 million from the Asian Development Bank.

Higher export proceeds and a record inflow of remittances have helped Pakistan's forex reserves grow steadily.

According to the official data, remittances rose 38.57 percent to $1.1 billion in the first month of 2011/12 fiscal year (July-June), compared with $791.18 million in the same period last year.

Copyright Reuters, 2011