Pakistan's forex reserves ease to $18.11bn

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves eased to $18.11 billion in the week ending July 10, from a record $18.25 billion the previous week, a senior official of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday.

Reserves held by the SBP fell to $14.64 billion from $14.79 billion a week ago, while those held by commercial banks edged to $3.47 billion up from $3.46 billion, said SBP chief spokesman Syed Wasimuddin.

"The decline in reserves during the week is due to scheduled debt repayments," said Wasimuddin.

Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves were boosted in June by inflows of $411 million, including a loan of $191.9 million from the World Bank, and another loan of $196.8 million from the Asian Development Bank.

Higher export proceeds and a record inflow of remittances have helped Pakistan's forex reserves grow steadily.

According to official data, remittances rose to a record $11.2 billion in 2010/11 fiscal year, an increase of 25.77 percent compared with the same period last year.