KARACHI (Reuters) : Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves rose marginally to $16.87 billion in the week ending Jan. 27, boosted by an increase in commercial bank reserves, from $16.80 billion in the previous week, the State Bank of Pakistan said on Thursday.

Foreign exchange reserves hit a record $18.31 billion in July, but have since eased due to debt repayments.

Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell to$12.52 billion from $12.55 billion a week earlier, while those held by commercial banks rose to $4.35 billion, compared with$4.25 billion the previous week.

Reserves were boosted in June last year by inflows of $411million, including a $191.9 million loan from the World Bank, and a $196.8 million loan from the Asian Development Bank.

Higher export proceeds and a record inflow of remittances have also helped support Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves.

According to official data, remittances rose 19.6 percent to$6.33 billion in the first half of the fiscal year (July-June),compared with $5.29 billion in the same period a year earlier.