Pakistani forex reserves rise to $17.52bn

Updated at: 1924 PST, Thursday, June 16, 2011
KARACHI: Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves rose to $17.52 billion in the week ending June 11, from $17.16 billion the previous week, a State Bank official said on Thursday.

Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) rose to$14.09 billion from $13.72 billion a week ago, while those held by commercial banks eased slightly to $3.43 billion from $3.44billion, said the SBP spokesman Syed Wasimuddin.

"There was an inflow of $190 million as flood aid from the United States, which helped the rise in reserves," said Wasimuddin.

Pakistan's 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 that ended on March 26.

Reserves have since eased slightly on debt repayments.

Remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis crossed $10 billion for the first time, hitting $10.1 billion in the first 11 months of the 2010/11 fiscal year, an increase of 25.20 percent compared with the same period last year, according to SBP data. (Reuters)