The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank declined for the fourth consecutive week, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday.

On September 8, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $7.639 billion, down $140 million compared to $7.779 billion on September 1. In a statement, the central bank said that the decline was mainly on account of debt repayments.

Overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $ 13.079 billion, down $48 million over the previous week. The net reserves held by banks stood at $5.440 billion, registering an increase of $93 million during the week.

According to Arif Habib Limited, the current reserves are enough for import cover of just over 1.5 months. The reserves held by the central bank have fallen by over $1 billion since July 14 when reserves stood at $8.727 billion.

Source: Pro Pakistani