December 4th 2009
Foreign exchange reserves declined to $13.72 billion in the week that ended on November 28 from $13.90 billion the previous week, the State Bank said. Reserves held by the State Bank were $10.14 billion as compared to $10.27 billion a week earlier, while those held by commercial banks also declined to $3.58 billion from $3.63 billion the previous week, the State Bank stated.
Foreign reserves reached a record high of $16.5 billion in October 2007 but lowered steadily to $6.6 billion by November last year, primarily due to a high import bill. An International Monetary Fund (IMF) emergency loan package of $7.6 billion agreed in November helped prevent a balance of payments crisis and shore up reserves. The IMF, which increased the loan to $11.3 billion in July, has disbursed over $5 billion.
