The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan increased by $61 million to $4,524.0 million, the central bank said on Thursday.

“Subsequently, during the current week, SBP received inflow of $2.0 billion from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; $1.0 billion from United Arab Emirates; and around $1.2 billion from IMF,” said the bank.

These inflows would be reflected in SBP’s FX reserves for the week ending on July 14, 2023.

The development comes after the International Monetary Fund’s Executive Board approved a nine-month Stand-by Arrangement for Pakistan for an amount of $3 billion to support the authorities’ economic stabilisation programme.

The total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at US$ 9,838.5 million as of July 07, 2023. The break-up of the foreign reserves position is as under:

• Foreign reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan: $4,524.0 million
• Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks: $5,314.5 million
• Total liquid foreign reserves: $9,838.5 million

Moreover, the rupee gained Rs1.02 or 0.37% against the dollar in the interbank market on Thursday. The dollar fell to Rs275 during Thursday’s trading before closing at Rs276.46.

The local currency has been taking an upward trajectory since the government reached a staff-level agreement on a $3 billion stand-by arrangement.