KARACHI: The foreign exchange reserves held by Pakistan have reached a five year high, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday. The reserves surged by $2.54billion, an increase of 12,2 per cent to $23.22bn as compared to $20.68bn in the last week.
“The increase in reserves is attributed to receipt of proceeds of $2.5bn against the issuance of Pakistan euro bonds,” the SBP said in a statement.
The Central Bank’s foreign exchange reserves, which closed above US$16bn are now on the highest level since July 2017.
Saad Hashemy, executive director at BMA Capital, said this is great news and credit must be given to the government for their effective management of the issuance of Eurobonds.
“Given strong remittances, there is no downside risk to reserves at least in the short to medium term,” said Hashemy.
The inflow of money from the global financial institutions after the agreement from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also helped in this, said Samiullah Tariq, head of Research at Pak-Kuwait Investment Company, said money from international
“This includes flows from Euro bonds, other assistance from multilateral institutions. So, I don’t think reserves have any downside at present. Flows are also continuously coming from Roshan digital accounts.”
Overall, liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $23.22bn. Net reserves held by banks amounted to $7.114bn.
