© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logo of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is pictured on a reception desk at the head office in Karachi, Pakistan July 16, 2019. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) -Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank rose by $66 million to $3.258 billion in the week ending Feb. 17, it said on Thursday, while its total liquid foreign reserves stood at $8.726 billion.
Pakistan, which is a $350 billion economy, is facing economic turmoil, with a balance of payment crisis and only enough foreign exchange reserves to cover three weeks of imports.
Islamabad is expecting external financing inflows after a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is finalised, something that is likely this month.
If the IMF deal is done and approved by its board, that will issue a $1 billion funding that will also unlock other bilateral and multilateral inflows.
China approved the refinancing of $700 million on Wednesday, the Pakistani finance ministry said. The money had been expected to be credited to the central bank’s reserves this week.
