Pakistan’s forex reserves fall to $13.90 billion

KARACHI: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves fell to $13.90 billion in the week that ended on Nov. 21 from $14.12 billion the previous week, the central bank said on Thursday.
 
Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan were $10.27 billion, down from $10.49 billion a week earlier, while those held by commercial banks were flat at $3.63 billion from the previous week, the central bank said in a statement.

Foreign reserves hit a record high of $16.5 billion in October 2007 but fell steadily to $6.6 billion by November last year, largely because of a soaring import bill.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) emergency loan package of $7.6 billion agreed in November helped avert a balance of payments crisis and shore up reserves.

The IMF, which increased the loan to $11.3 billion in July, has disbursed more than $5 billion.