ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves rose to $16.311 billion in the week ending May 18, from 16.103 in the previous week, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday.

Reserves held by SBP climbed to $11.936 billion from $11.784 billion the week before, and those held by commercial banks rose to $4.375 billion from $4.319 billion.

Foreign exchange reserves hit a record $18.31 billion in July last year, boosted by inflows of $411 million, including a $191.9 million loan from the World Bank and a $196.8 million loan from the Asian Development Bank.

Higher exports and record remittances have also supported Pakistan's reserves.

Remittances from Pakistanis overseas rose 20.23 percent to $10.877 billion in the first 10 months of the 2011/12 fiscal year, compared with $9.046 billion in the same period last year.

In April, remittances totalled $1.141 billion.

Pakistan's reserves have been drained by debt repayments of $2.53 billion in the current fiscal year.

Copyright Reuters, 2012

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