Islamabad (Commerce Desk) Governor of the State Bank Jameel Ahmed told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance that the central bank has purchased $27 billion from the local open market over the past three and a half years to increase the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
He said that since January 2023, the State Bank of Pakistan has acquired a total of $27 billion from the open market, including $4.5 billion during the current fiscal year. According to him, this amount is about $3 billion higher than earlier estimates.
The Governor stated that despite repayment of $5 billion in loans in April, the country’s foreign exchange reserves have continued to increase and are expected to soon cross the $17 billion mark.
He further informed the committee that economic growth is expected to remain above 4 percent in the third quarter of the current fiscal year.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb also briefed the meeting on the national economy and the IMF program.
On the other hand, experts say that due to large-scale dollar purchases by the central bank, pressure on the rupee has persisted, as the local currency could have remained stronger if these purchases had not been made. They added that this situation also indicates that the IMF program has not significantly increased non-debt inflows and investment.
