December 25 2009
According to the central bank, Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves rose to $13.72 billion in the week that ended on December 19 from $13.54 billion the previous week. Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) rose to $10.04 billion from $9.88 billion a week earlier, while those held by commercial banks increased to $3.68 billion from $3.66 billion the previous week, the central bank stated on December 24.Syed Wasimuddin, chief spokesman for SBP said, “One of the reasons that the central bank’s reserves rose is because it stopped providing foreign currency for imports of crude oil.”
The IMF increased its lending to $11.3 billion in July and approved a fourth tranche, worth $1.2 billion, of the standby arrangement on December 23. A spokesperson for the SBP said that Pakistan would receive $1.2 billion on December 28.
