KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday dismissed rumors that the government has issued letters of credit (LC) or agreements for import of crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other petroleum products. Restrictions have been imposed on opening.
In a brief statement, the central bank said: “Such information is being disseminated with the ulterior motive of creating uncertainty in the market.”
Earlier, fresh reports were doing the rounds claiming that the country is likely to face a shortage of petroleum products due to import of essential chemicals – which refineries need to process crude oil. – is in danger.
Reports indicate that LCs are not being opened for import of chemicals required for refinery operations and this situation may lead to curtailment or suspension of refinery operations, resulting in POL products, In particular, shortage of Mogas (petrol) may occur. .
State Bank in a statement issued today mentioned that it ensures timely processing of foreign currency payments by banks related to import of oil and gas products (including LNG) and contractual maturity of commercial documents.
“All oil import LCs or contracts are being liquidated without delay through the interbank foreign exchange market on their due dates,” it said, adding that trade data released by the State Bank The figure also shows that the country’s oil import stood at $1.48 billion and $1.47 billion for the months of September 2022 and October 2022, respectively.
