Pakistan’s total foreign exchange reserves stood at US$16.6 billion in the week ended May 30, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The central bank’s own reserves fell slightly by US$7 million to US$11.51 billion during the week, while commercial banks held US$5.09 billion in net reserves.
A week earlier, SBP-held reserves had risen by US$70 million to US$11.52 billion, marking a brief uptick before the latest decline.
Separately, Pakistan’s trade data for May showed signs of improvement on a monthly basis, even as the broader trade balance remained under pressure.
Exports in May rose 17.4 per cent year-on-year to US$2.6 billion, while imports dropped 7.6 per cent to US$5.2 billion, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). This helped narrow the monthly trade deficit by 23.5 per cent to US$2.6 billion.
However, the cumulative trade data for the first 11 months of the fiscal year tells a more concerning story. From July to May, exports were up 4.7 per cent to US$29.45 billion, but imports rose faster, climbing 7.3 per cent to US$53.45 billion.
That pushed the trade deficit to nearly US$24 billion, a 10.6 per cent increase from the same period a year earlier.
