Pakistan’s forex reserves rise to $18.04 bln

KARACHI (Reuters): Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves rose to $18.04 billion in the week ending Aug. 13, from $17.97 billion the previous week, a senior central bank official said on Thursday.

Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) rose to $14.55 billion from $14.46 billion a week ago, while those held by commercial banks fell to $3.49 billion from $3.51 billion, said SBP chief spokesman Syed Wasimuddin.

Foreign exchange reserves hit a record $18.31 billion in the week ending July 30.

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves were boosted in June by inflows of $411 million, including a loan of $191.9 million from the World Bank, and another loan of $196.8 million from the Asian Development Bank.

Higher export proceeds and a record inflow of remittances have helped Pakistan’s forex reserves grow steadily.

According to official data, remittances rose 38.57 percent to $1.1 billion in the first month of 2011/12 fiscal year, compared with $791.18 million in the same period last year.



In May 2010, Pakistan received $1.13 billion in the fifth tranche of an $11 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme.