State Bank Reserves Drop to Alarming $4.3 Billion

Advertisement Pakistan’s State Bank-held foreign exchange reserves decreased by $1.23 billion to $4.33 billion on Thursday due to the country’s ongoing economic and political unrest. The cash-strapped nation’s foreign exchange reserves declined as pledged monies in Geneva failed to materialize and negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) failed to produce results. Advertisement The State Bank’s new revelation comes after Islamabad paid $1.233 billion in foreign debt obligations earlier this month, which caused the country’s FX reserves to plummet to an unsettling $4.3343 billion, the lowest level in a decade. Reserves held by commercial banks were kept at $5.8 billion, but overall foreign exchange reserves dropped to $10.189 billion, just enough to cover three weeks’ worth of imports. Advertisement