Pakistan’s forex reserves dip amid delay in IMF bailout package

KARACHI – The total foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan dropped by $323.3 million billion while reserves held by the central bank decreased to US $4.244 billion.

In a statement, the State Bank of Pakistan said the total liquid foreign reserves held by the South Asian nation currently stand at $9.815 billion as of March 24, 2023.

As of now, net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5.571 billion from previous level of $5.540 billion.

The decline comes as China is yet to take a decision on a request from Pakistan to roll over a $2 billion loan that matured last week amid a delay in release of bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The cash-strapped Pakistan is desperately awaiting a tranche of $1.1 billion from the global lander that has been delayed since last year.

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