Forex reserves rise to $17.07bn

KARACHI: Foreign exchange reserves rose to $17.07 billion in the week ending May 21, from $16.97 billion the previous week, a State Bank of Paksitan (SBP) official said on Thursday.

Reserves held by the SBP rose to $13.67 billion from $13.56 billion a week ago, while those held by commercial banks fell marginally to $3.40 billion from $3.41 billion, said the SBP's spokesman Syed Wasimuddin.

"The current account surplus has been reflected in the foreign exchange reserves," said Wasimuddin.

Pakistan's forex reserves had grown steadily thanks to higher export proceeds as well as record inflow of remittances, hitting an all-time high of $17.95 billion during the week that ended on March 26.

Reserves have since eased slightly on debt repayments.

Remittances from overseas Pakistanis increased by 23.81 percent to over $9 billion in the first 10 months of the 2010/11 fiscal year, with $1.03 billion coming in April alone, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.

Pakistan's current account surplus for the July-April period was a provisional $748 million, compared with a deficit of $3.456 billion in the same period last year.

In April, the current account had a provisional surplus of $716 million compared with a surplus of $230 million in March.

Foreign exchange reserves were boosted in January by more than $633 million when the United States provided funds for military and logistical support for Pakistan's campaign against a Taliban insurgency.

In May 2010, Pakistan received $1.13 billion in a fifth tranche of an $11 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme.

Pakistan and the IMF ended talks last week in Dubai to discuss budget targets for 2011/12 fiscal year.

They are due to meet in July to discuss the possible release of the sixth tranche.

Copyright Reuters, 2011