SBP forex reserves fall $237m in a week

The State Bank’s foreign exchange reserves dropped by $237 million to $7 billion in the week ending Dec 1, the central bank said in a statement on Thursday, as debt servicing on foreign loans continues to eat up SBP’s holdings. The country’s total liquid foreign reserves stood at $12.1bn, including $5.09bn held by commercial banks, the central bank said. The SBP has now lost more than $1.7bn since mid-July. The exchange rate looks stable, but increasing debt servicing costs without significant inflows have put the economy at risk. The World Bank’s regional vice president for South Asia, Martin Raiser, recently said in an address to economists that Pakistan’s economy was stuck in a low-growth trap with poor human development outcomes and increasing poverty.