The State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves decreased by $157 million in the week that ended on October 21, but they were raised by an influx of $1.5 billion from the Asian Development Bank.
Nevertheless, despite a significant inflow from the Asian Development Bank, the US dollar’s demand in the interbank market remained high, causing it to rise by 81 pence against the rupee. The closing rate for the dollar was Rs221.50. As the political unrest in the nation worsens as a result of PTI leader Imran Khan’s long march, the Pakistani rupee depreciated against the US dollar for the third session in a row on Friday.
Interbank closing #ExchangeRate for todayhttps://t.co/BhFb9GE70Q pic.twitter.com/3ZTwWb6ruI
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) October 28, 2022
In the interbank market, the local currency dropped Rs0.97 or 0.44% against the US dollar to close at Rs222.47.
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The SBP said on Thursday that its foreign exchange reserves decreased to $7.439 billion throughout the course of the week under consideration. The central bank has lost nearly $9 billion so far this year as the trend toward diminishing foreign exchange reserves persisted.
On October 26, the SBP got a $1.5 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank on behalf of the Pakistani government. For the week ending October 28, these proceeds would be visible in SBP reserves. However, the SBP’s overall reserves climbed to $8.939 billion as a result of this influx.
The week’s overall reserves for the nation were $13.162 billion, while the commercial banks’ holdings were $5.722 billion.