Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decreased by another $140 million on a weekly basis, clocking in at $7.64 billion as of September 8, data released on Thursday showed.

Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $13.08 billion. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5.44 billion.

The central bank cited debt repayments as the reason for the decrease in foreign currency reserves.

“During the week ended on 08-Sep-2023, SBP’s reserves decreased by US$ 140 million to US$ 7,638.9 million on account of debt repayments,” the SBP said.

Last week, SBP’s reserves fell by $70 million.

In four weeks, the dollar stockpile with the central bank has dropped by a cumulative $416 million.

In July, reserves held by the SBP got a boost as Pakistan received the first tranche of about $1.2 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after its lender approved a new $3-billion Stand-By Arrangement. It also got inflows from Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

However, the central bank reserves are now back under pressure due to debt repayments, rise in import payments after ease in restrictions, and lack of fresh inflows.