Pakistan's forex reserves fall to $6.7 billion

The central bank said in a statement on Thursday that Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves fell from $784 million to $6.7 billion as of December 2, as the country struggles to meet external financing needs.

The drop means that the nuclear-armed nation's reserves have fallen further from November's barely one month of import cover, even as it struggles to get International Monetary Fund IMF funds, even as it battles decades of high inflation and scrambles to secure international Monetary Fund funds.

The statement said that the amount of US $1,000 million was a result of the payment of US $1,000 million against maturing Pakistan International Sukuk and some other external debt repayments.

Some debt repayments were offset by inflows, mainly $500 million received from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Pakistan needs more than $30 billion of external funding this financial year to cover its current account deficit and debt obligations.

The programme's ninth review is yet to begin, and the expected funds from the IMF have been delayed.

The finance minister of Pakistan last week hit out at the IMF, saying it was delaying the review despite Islamabad having met all targets. He said that Pakistan would get $3 billion from a friendly country this month.

On Thursday, local media reported that Pakistan had sought $4.2 billion from Saudi Arabia to shore up its reserves. Saudi Arabia, China and the United Arab Emirates have already parked funds in Pakistan's central bank to help Islamabad.

In a podcast interview on Thursday, Pakistani central bank chief Jameel Ahmad said that all debt repayments are on track and the country's foreign exchange reserves are expected to increase in the second half of the current fiscal year.