Foreign Exchange Reserves
During the week ending on March 29, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) witnessed a rise in its foreign exchange reserves by $18.5 million, reaching $8.04 billion, citing SBP sources.
This increase follows the previous week’s reserves, which stood at $8.22 billion on March 22. However, the central bank did not provide a specific reason for this uptick in reserves.
Conversely, the foreign exchange reserves of commercial banks experienced a decline during the same period, dropping to $5.3 billion from $5.4 billion, marking a decrease of $67.2 million.
Overall, Pakistan’s total foreign exchange reserves declined by $48.7 million to $13.38 billion compared to the previous week’s figure of $13.42 billion.
Despite fluctuations in reserves, Pakistan’s export sector showed resilience, with exports increasing by 8.93% in the first nine months of the fiscal year 2023–24 compared to the corresponding period in the previous year.
According to data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), exports surged to $22.91 billion from $21.03 billion in the same period of the fiscal year 2022–2023.
On the other hand, imports decreased by 8.65% to $39.94 billion from $43.72 billion in the previous fiscal year.
Consequently, the trade deficit for the first nine months of the current fiscal year narrowed to $17.03 billion from $22.68 billion in the corresponding period last year, indicating a substantial drop of 24.94%.
These developments reflect a mixed picture for Pakistan’s economy, with improvements in exports offsetting the decline in imports, thereby contributing to a reduction in the trade deficit.
However, fluctuations in reserves underscore the need for continued vigilance and strategic management of the country’s economic resources to ensure stability and growth.
