KARACHI: Foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) have dropped below $ 14 billion for the first time in two years, the central bank reported on Thursday.
Reserves of the SBP fell $ 276 million to $ 13.86 billion in the week that ended on September 29.
The central bank said the outflow of $ 276 million was because of debt servicing and other foreign payments.
Falling reserves have sparked a debate on the rupee’s impending devaluation and the strategy to boost exports.
SBP reserves reached their peak of $ 18.9 billion in October 2016. They started falling afterwards as major sources of foreign currency, like exports and remittances, continued to decline or flattened out.
The government paid about $ 8 billion in debt servicing in 2016-17 as it faced a current account deficit of over $ 12 billion.
