Forex Reserves Rise To $14.85bn

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves rose to $14.85 billion in the week ending on March 13 from $14.72 billion the previous week, the central bank said on Thursday.

Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan rose to $10.98 billion from $10.91 billion a week earlier, while those held by commercial banks also rose to $3.87 billion from $3.81 billion the previous week, the State Bank of Pakistan said.

Pakistan’s foreign reserves hit a record high of $16.5 billion in October 2007 but fell steadily to $6.6 billion by November 2008, largely because of a soaring import bill.
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) emergency loan package of $7.6 billion agreed to in November 2008 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 a fourth tranche of $1.2 billion on Dec. 28.