Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves drop by $150 million in a week

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), experienced a decline of over $150 million over the past week, according to the latest data released by the central bank on Thursday.

As of March 7, the SBP’s foreign currency reserves stood at $11.098 billion, reflecting a decrease of $152 million from $11.250 billion on February 28.

The central bank attributed the drop in reserves to external debt repayments.

However, total liquid foreign exchange reserves held by the country, including those held by commercial banks, rose to $15.929 billion, marking an increase of $55 million from the previous week.

Net reserves held by commercial banks also saw a notable increase, rising by $206 million to reach $4.831 billion.