- Net foreign reserves of commercial banks declared to $ 4.94 billion.
- Despite the drop, SBP reserves remain above the $ 10 billion mark.
- Forex reserves are sufficient to cover imports for more than two months.
Pakistan exchange reserves withdrew $ 15.55 billion on March 21, 2025 – a significant drop in central bank assets due to the maintenance of external debt, Pakistan’s State Bank (SBP) reported on Thursday.
Foreign reserves run by SBP dropped $ 540 million over the week, regulating $ 10.61 billion. The fall was allocated to debt obligations.
Meanwhile, net foreign reserves of commercial banks were declared to $ 4.94 billion.
Despite the drop, SBP reserves remain above the crucial bar of $ 10 billion, providing import coverage of more than two months.
Analysts claim that future entries, including multilateral and bilateral funding expected, could help stabilize the reserves in the coming weeks.
The staff of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has entered into an agreement with Pakistan for a new $ 1.3 billion agreement and also agreed with the first rescue program during 37 months, the fund announced on Tuesday.
Pending the approval of the board of directors, Pakistan can unlock the $ 1.3 billion as part of a new climate resilience loan program extending over 28 months.
It will also release $ 1 billion for the South Asian nation as part of its 7 billion dollars rescue program, which would bring these disbursements to $ 2 billion.
The program, secure in the middle of the year in 2024, played a key role in stabilizing the economy of Pakistan, and the government said that the country was underway for a long -term recovery.
“In the past 18 months, Pakistan has made significant progress in restoring macroeconomic stability and the reconstruction of confidence despite a difficult global environment,” the IMF said in a statement.
“Upon approval (by the IMF board of directors), Pakistan will have access to around 1 billion dollars under the EFF, bringing total disbursements within the framework of the program to around $ 2 billion,” the IMF.
The Ministry of Finance says that the country’s $ 350 billion economy stabilized as part of a 7 -billion dollars rescue plan that helped it postpone a default threat.
Pakistan continues to deal with external funding challenges, political decision -makers have focused on securing foreign entries to maintain reserve stamps and support economic stability.