Over the week ending June 16, the foreign exchange reserves of the central bank saw a drastic decline by nearly half a billion dollars, posing a significant risk to the country’s external account. The State Bank stated that it paid out $482 million in debt servicing during the week, bringing its total reserves down to a meager $3.536 billion — the lowest since mid-February.
Despite this, the bank asserted that a commercial loan of $300 million, received by the government during the week, had not been included and would appear in the data for the following week.
The nation has lost approximately $7.1 billion this fiscal year due to underperforming exports and remittances. This loss significantly outweighs the $1.1 billion the country has been trying to secure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The country’s Finance Minister, Ishaq Dar, has seemingly been unable to convince experts and the media regarding the unsuccessful negotiations with the IMF. Yet, he remains hopeful that the Fund will release an installment before the bailout package concludes at the end of this month.
