State Bank of Pakistan's reserves rise by $19m

The State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves increased by $19 million in the week that ended on Oct 16, reaching $21.488 billion, Dawn reported. The central bank released the figures on Thursday. The update covers the SBP’s holdings, rather than the entire stock of liquid foreign reserves available across Pakistan’s banking system.

For the country as a whole, liquid foreign reserves stood at $26.833 billion during the reported period. Commercial banks held $5.344 billion of that amount, while the SBP accounted for the separately reported $21.488 billion. The figures therefore give investors a snapshot of both the central bank’s reserves and the additional foreign currency held by commercial banks, without indicating any other change in the external position.