KARACHI: While the US dollar has crushed the local currency, the foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) have also started falling sharply that may further weaken the rupee.

The SBP reserves plunge d by $1.646 billion to $17.492bn during the week ended on Oct 15 from over $20bninAugust,announced the central bank on Thursday.

The State Bank said that reserves decreased mainly due to external debt repayments that included $1bn against Pakistan International Sukulc While the government is negotiating with IMF for loans, it has reportedly planned to raise $3.5bn through selling of bonds on the international market.

During the week the reserves of the commercial banks increased by $4m to $6.835bn.

The country`s overall forex holdings fell by $1.642bn to $24.327bn in the period under review.