Pak has forex to pay for 2 months of imports, reserves slip below $10 bn

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves fell below $10 billion, threatening to spill over into a fullblown economic crisis unless policy makers secure a loan from the International Monetary Fund.

The stockpile decreased by $366 million in the week ended May 27 to stand at $9.72 billion, the central bank said in a statement on its website. That’s roughly a 50 per cent drop from August and enough to pay for less than two months of imports. 

The shortage of dollars could worsen as the nation forecasts its trade deficit will widen to a record $45 billion in the year ending June. Authorities have