Pakistani forex reserves ease to $17.11bn

KARACHI: Foreign exchange reserves eased to $17.11 billion in the week ending on April 30, from $17.18 billion the previous week, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday.

Reserves held by the SBP rose to $13.70 billion from $13.68 billion a week ago, while those held by commercial banks rose fell to $3.41 billion from $3.50 billion, said the SBP.

Forex reserves have grown steadily thanks to higher export proceeds as well as record inflow of remittances, hitting an all-time high of $17.95 billion during the week ended March 26.

Reserves have since eased slightly on debt repayments.

Remittances from overseas Pakistanis increased by 22.37 percent to more than $8 billion in the first nine months of the 2010/11 fiscal year (July-June), and in March, a record $1.05 billion was received, according to SBP data. (Reuters)