Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves were $23.22 billion as of April 9, 2021, according to the central bank. It increased 11% from $20.836 billion the previous week and after a current account surplus of $881 million the previous month.
The State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) reserves fell by $146 million to $13.527 billion as a result of foreign debt repayments, as per a source.
The surplus is attributed to a rise in worker remittances and “a sustained recovery in exports since Nov20 in year-on-year terms, which more than offset the increase in imports due to domestic food shortages and recovering economic activity,” according to the state bank.
Worker remittances, which include earnings of Pakistani freelancers and funds transferred by Pakistanis living abroad and were cited by the SBP as a major contributor to the surplus, have also increased from $15 billion to $18.7 billion.
