KARACHI – The country’s foreign exchange reserves underwent a slender decline of $84.5 million and reached $17.505 billion during the week ending on February 26. The 0.48 percent slump was seen after the country’s most-needed dollar reserves hit a historic high of $17.589 billion on the back of, what the central bank said, soaring inflow of the greenback under worker remittances and exports.
Pakistan’s dollar reserves had also climbed to a record $17.447 billion in the week ending on February 15. In the preceding week, ending on February 5, foreign exchange reserves had slid to $17.314 billion after touching a record high of $17.386 billion a week earlier. The central bank’s reserves also dipped to $14.027 billion during the said week, $52.6 million or 0.3 percent less than $14.080 billion held last week.
Foreign exchange reserves, with the commercial banks, sustained a downward trend and stood at $3.477 billion against $3.509 billion in the preceding week. Banks, other than SBP, saw their net foreign exchange reserves decline by $31.9 million, the SBP data revealed. SBP Chief Spokesman Syed Wasimuddin attributed the decline in commercial banks’ reserves to routine cash withdrawals by depositors, while shrinkage in the country’s reserves, the SBP spokesman believed, was a result of normal debt payments.
Official and unofficial economic observers foresee deterioration in the country’s economic indicators, particularly the current accounts which, some analysts believed, were expected to see a deficit of $4.0 billion or two percent of the GDP during second half of the current fiscal year.
Forex reserves fall to $17.505 billion
