Pakistan's forex reserves drops below $10 billion
Business
Pakistan’s forex reserves drops below $10 billion
KARACHI (Dunya News) - The foreign exchange reserves dropped by $378 million to reach $15.771, reaching the 29-month low level.
Statistics released by the State Bank of Pakistan shows, the reserves held by the central bank decreased to $9.72 billion in the week ended May 27. That’s roughly a 50% drop from August and enough to pay for less than two months of imports.
The shortage of dollars could worsen as the nation forecasts its trade deficit will widen to a record $45 billion in the year ending June. Authorities have raised fuel and electricity prices, a key condition to unlock the remaining $3 billion of an existing loan by the multilateral lender.
Meanwhile, the foreign reserves held by the private banks also witnessed a sharp decline to $15.771 billion, witnessing a decrease of $378 million.
