SBP's foreign exchange reserves rise to over $9 billion

The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased by 0.32 percent to $9.466 during the week ended on September 6, according to the data released by the central bank on Thursday.

The statistics showed an increase of $30 million in reserves held by SBP, while the country’s total reserves to Rs14.8 billion after a surge of $56.2 million week-on-week. The reserves in the commercial bank rose by 0.50 percent to $26.4 million, standing at $5.33 billion.

The central bank's governor Jameel Ahmed said the SBP reserve is estimated to increase to $12 billion in March and $13 billion in June of the next fiscal year.

He added that the central bank has improved its reserves by purchasing dollars regularly for debt servicing.

Speaking to an analyst before announcing the Monetary Policy, Ahmed said that the bank bought $573 million from the interbank in June as the bank focused on boosting its reserves.

He further informed that the supply of foreign currency in June remained higher than demand due to the imports in the banking system, but the remittances from overseas workers increased export earnings as the inflows of the greenback remained beyond expectations.  

The development came with the fall in oil prices in the global market, providing support to the local currency, as the country heavily relied on the import of oil.

However, the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan reported the stability in local currency, which is being sold at Rs280.85 per dollar in the open market.