Karachi: The exchange reserves of the Pakistani central bank reached a four -month summit of 11.446 billion dollars on May 16 after receiving the second tranche of $ 1.023 billion in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as part of a 7 billion dollars loan program last week, the Pakistan State Bank (SBP) said Thursday.
SBP reserves increased by $ 1.043 billion during reports. The total liquid foreign reserves held by the country increased $ 1.035 billion to $ 16.648 billion. However, the reserves of commercial banks fell $ 9 million.
On May 9, the IMF finished the first examination of a 37 -month prolonged fund (EFF) that the world lender agreed with Islamabad last year. This examination resulted in the approval of a billion dollars disbursement for Pakistan. In addition, the IMF approved a new $ 1.4 billion loan under its climate resilience.
“The SBP manages to increase the reserves despite the record interest and the repatriation of dividends by $ 7.2 billion in the first 10 months of fiscal year 25, thanks to recording funds and resilient exports in the drop in prices of raw materials,” said Awai Ashraf, director of research at AKD Securities Limited.
“IMF entries and the rollovers of friendly countries have also played a crucial role in supporting our reserves, and we expect these reserves to increase $ 2.5 billion in the next two months and reach the $ 17 billion mark by June of next year,” added Awais.
The current account surplus dropped to $ 12 million, an amazing drop of 99% compared to the previous month. In annual shift, the surplus dropped by 96%. In the first 10 months of the 20125 financial year, the surplus reached $ 1.88 billion, which showed a significant improvement compared to a deficit of $ 1.33 billion in the same period last year.
The IMF staff report published last week said that the IMF estimates the current account deficit (CAD) for 25 to 0.2 billion dollars (0.1% of GDP), supported by resilient exports and a stronger payment perspective, thanks to an improvement in the stability of macroeconomics and foreign exchanges. In the medium term, the CAD should modestly widen to around 1.0% of GDP as imports are recovered. According to the IMF, gross reserves should be strengthened, strengthened by multilateral and bilateral funding committed and expected RSF disbursements of $ 1.3 billion. Access to commercial financing remains limited, with a small issue of panda bonds provided for financial year 26 and a progressive back to school on the Sukuk Eurobond / World market supposed for financial year.
