Karachi: According to the latest report of the State Bank of Pakistan, a slight increase was recorded in the country’s foreign exchange reserves in the business week ending on August 8, however, the trend of decline in the reserves of commercial banks continued.
According to the statistics, the total foreign exchange reserves have reached $19.496 billion with an increase of $1.1 million. During this period, the reserves with the State Bank increased by $11.3 million to $14.243 billion, which is considered a positive development despite the repayment of external loans.
On the other hand, a decrease of $12 million was recorded in the reserves of commercial banks, after which their reserves remained at $5.253 billion. Experts say that the demand for currency in the global market and the pressure of import payments are a major reason for this decline.