Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves fall below $3bn

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank decreased by $170 million to $2.9 billion in the week ending on February 3, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday. The country is locked in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to release much-needed money under a stalled bailout programme. A successful outcome with the IMF would also help to release money from other platforms that are looking for a greenlight from the lender. The SBP handout issued today said that the decrease was due to “external debt payments”. Meanwhile, net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5.6bn, bringing the country’s total liquid foreign reserves to $8.5bn.