KARACHI: Foreign exchange reserves rose to $18.23 billion in the week ending July 16, from $18.11 billion the previous week, a senior State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) official said on Thursday.
The reserves are just below an all-time high of $18.25 billion, hit the week ending July 2.
Reserves held by the SBP jumped to $14.71 billion from $14.64 billion a week ago, while those held by commercial banks rose to $3.52 billion from $3.47 billion, said SBP chief spokesman Syed Wasimuddin.
Pakistan’s foreign exchange 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 official data, remittances rose to a record $11.2 billion in 2010/11 fiscal year, an increase of 25.77 percent compared with the same period last year.
In May 2010, Pakistan received $1.13 billion in the fifth tranche of an $11 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme.
Copyright Reuters, 2011
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