Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased $1.47 billion on a weekly basis, clocking in $8.91 billion as of October 28, 2022, according to data released on Thursday.

Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $14.68 billion. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks clocked in at $5.77 billion.

"During the week ended on 28-Oct-2022, SBP’s reserves increased by US$ 1,473 million to US$ 8,912.9 million. This increase is attributed to the receipt of US$ 1,500 million from Asian Development Bank (ADB)," said the SBP.

SBP-held forex reserves fall $157mn to stand at $7.44bn, ADB's loan to be reflected next week

The SBP received $1.5 billion from ADB on October 26, 2022 as disbursement of loan for the government of Pakistan.

In September, SBP's reserves had increased as the central bank received the $1.2-billion tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Saudi Development Fund also rolled over a $3-billion deposit with the SBP, an amount that was due to mature in December 2022. However, this development was not meant to increase foreign exchange as the amount was already part of SBP's reserves.

The reserves’ position is critical for Pakistan which has been desperately seeking dollar inflows to meet its balance-of-payments needs.