Pakistan's forex reserve sinks to USD 4.3b

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank dropped USD 1.2 billion to USD 4.3 billion as of 6 January, the bank said on Thursday, leaving the cash-strapped country with barely three weeks’ worth of import cover.

The drop was due to external debt repayments, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in a statement.

Net foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks stood at USD 5.8 billion, and total liquid reserves at USD 10.1 billion, the bank added.

Despite recent compression measures by the government, Pakistan’s import bill for goods was USD 5.1 billion per month in both November and December, according to the country’s statistics bureau. Its main imports are critical energy-related fuels.