Overview
- State Bank of Pakistan foreign reserves reached $16.3537 billion as of March 13, a $13 million weekly rise, with total liquid reserves at $21.7042 billion.
- Commercial banks in Pakistan held $5.3505 billion, and authorities have linked recent central-bank reserve gains primarily to an IMF SDR receipt of 914 million SDRs (about $1.2 billion).
- India’s foreign exchange reserves fell by about $7.05 billion to $709.76 billion in the week ended March 13, RBI data showed.
- Within India’s reserves, foreign currency assets dropped $7.678 billion to $555.568 billion, while gold holdings increased $664 million to $130.681 billion and SDRs and the IMF position edged lower.
- The Pakistani rupee was little changed at 279.25 per dollar, and gold prices slumped both domestically—down Rs24,300 per tola to Rs499,462—and globally, with Reuters reporting a near 4% slide to the lowest level since early February.