Forex reserves rise

Friday, January 01, 2010
KARACHI: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves rose to $13.96 billion in the week ending Dec 26 from $13.72 billion the previous week, a central bank official said on Thursday.

Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan rose to $10.29 billion from $10.04 billion a week earlier, while those held by commercial banks fell to $3.67 billion from $3.68 billion the previous week, the central bank spokesman said.

“The rise in central bank reserves also incorporates $200 million from Saudi Arabia,” said Syed Wasimuddin, chief spokesman for the State Bank of Pakistan.

Saudi Arabia granted Pakistan a $380 million soft loan mainly to support its budget, a senior Saudi official said last month.

The official said $200 million will be given to the central bank for “budget spending”. The reserves, however, do not reflect the $1.2 billion received from the International Monetary Fund this week, as it will be in next week’s reserve data.

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 IMF emergency loan package of $7.6 billion agreed in November last year helped avert a balance of payments crisis and shore up reserves. The IMF increased the loan to $11.3 billion in July and the central bank received the fourth tranche on Dec 28.