SBP Forex reserves fall to five-year low of $7.7 billion

[Mighty Lion]

Our Correspondent
November 2, 2018

Forex reserves fall to five-year low of $7.7 billion

KARACHI: Pakistan’s official foreign exchange reserves fell 0.6 percent to nearly five-year low of $7.777 billion, the central bank’s data showed on Thursday, as the Prime Minister Imran Khan departed to China to top up the depleting external account after Saudi bailout commitment last week.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said its foreign exchange reserves declined $48 million as of 26 October from $7.825 billion a week earlier. The SBP’s forex reserves were teetering around six billion dollars by the end of fiscal year of 2012/13, but they recovered to $9.097 billion till the following year-end on IMF’s loan.

The country’s total foreign exchange reserves decreased 0.7 percent or $111.3 million to $14.184 billion. They stood at $14.295 billion in the previous week.

The reserves of commercial banks stood at $6.407 billion as against $6.470 billion a week earlier, according to the SBP.

Prime Minister left for a five-day visit to China to discuss financial assistance package as the foreign exchange position came down to cover less than two months of imports.

Last week, Saudi Arab pledged six billion dollars to help Pakistan meet its external account challenges. The package includes three billion dollars in immediate balance of payments support and three billion dollars a year on account of oil deferred payment.

Current account deficit widened to $18 billion during the last fiscal year, up 42.5 percent from a year earlier.

The SBP’s reserves declined due to external debt servicing and other official payments. Depleting external account underscored an urgent need of top-ups committed by the Saudi government to avert looming balance of payments crisis.

The government expressed optimism over lenient conditions on a possible International Monetary Fund’s loan program as a result of Saudi rescue and an expected Chinese assistance.

An IMF delegation is expected to reach Pakistan early next week to broach upon a loan program with Pakistan that has resorted to the Washington-based lender 12 times since 1980. The IMF’s three-year extended fund facility of $6.6 billion ended in September 2016.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/388403-forex-reserves-fall-to-five-year-low-of-7-7-billion

 

[Goenitz]

We should grow tea and corn. A lot of money is spent on edible oil and tea

 

[GHALIB]

We should grow tea and corn. A lot of money is spent on edible oil and tea

cosmetic import eats 20 percent of forex dollars .

 

[enquencher]

This is fall before the rise...tsunami of billions coming from china saudi uae...reserves will rise.hopefully pakistan devices a plan to repay the amount.

 

[Goenitz]

cosmetic import eats 20 percent of forex dollars .

you serious? I thought our cosmetics rule..

anyway its sad past people used herbal shampoo, soaps, fragrance and other herbs... like these were invented in sub continent... and we lost

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

FAKE NEWS ...posted

Actual figures

 

[Qutb-ud-din Aybak]

import of automobile, tea, cosmetics, perfumes,clothes, toys and cement should be banned.

 

[Dark-Destroyer]

What is clearly evident is during this government's tenure so far many parts of the media is full steam ahead releasing fake news to malign them

 

[LASER1]

import of automobile, tea, cosmetics, perfumes,clothes, toys and cement should be banned.

Brilliant suggestion. No better way for CPI inflation.

 

[Death Professor]

FAKE NEWS ...posted

Actual figures

nahh, what you are quoting are total Pakistan's liquid FX reserves. What the news is quoting is SBP's total reserves, this excludes all other banks.

http://www.sbp.org.pk/ecodata/forex.pdf

 

[American Pakistani]

Nothing will change unless Pakistanis stop spending on "made in xxx country" stuffs. And start producing and selling "made in Pakistan" stuff.

I don't get why a nation of massive 220 million population is facing such crises. Except for our own laziness and being busy pulling each other's legs...?

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

It is combination of Lazy Industrial Output

a) Chocolates , Chips , Candies , and White chocolate etc exotic stuff can't be imported
b) Tea , we Import Tones of this stuff for daily consumption people can't live without it
c) All Electronics in country is coming from outside country
d) Every one wants the brand name women cosmetics imported yields better sale potential and money making
e) All computers coming from outside
f) All Engines coming from outside

The worse of all , even old cars we import that junk into country to put more strain on economy

 

[Abdussamad]

We should grow tea and corn. A lot of money is spent on edible oil and tea

We should grow crude oil! 23% of imports are of petroleum products. It's the largest share of our imports but instead of cutting down on the consumption of that, by say raising prices, we talk about mobile phones, tea, vegetable oil and cheese. The public discourse in Pakistan tends to be divorced from reality. This is one of the reasons why we keep getting into this mess time and time again.

 

[Nanga Tarzan]

It is combination of Lazy Industrial Output

a) Chocolates , Chips , Candies , and White chocolate etc exotic stuff can't be imported
b) Tea , we Import Tones of this stuff for daily consumption people can't live without it
c) All Electronics in country is coming from outside country
d) Every one wants the brand name women cosmetics imported yields better sale potential and money making
e) All computers coming from outside
f) All Engines coming from outside

The worse of all , even old cars we import that junk into country to put more strain on economy

And you still believe you are making JF-17 on your own??