Pakistan's forex reserves fall to $13.845 bln

KARACHI, March 20 (Reuters) - Pakistan's foreign reserves fell by $297 million to $13.845 billion in the week that ended on March 16, the central bank said on Thursday.

Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan fell to $11.734 billion from $12.030 billion a week earlier, while those held by commercial banks rose marginally to $2.121 billion from $2.112 billion.

SBP spokesman Syed Wasimuddin said reserves eased due to continued payments for oil and commodities imports and debt payments.

Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves hit an all-time high of $16.486 billion on Oct. 31, 2007, but then fell sharply, mainly because of outflows from the stock market after President Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency on Nov. 3.

The emergency was lifted on Dec. 15, but foreign investors remained cautious after the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on Dec. 27.

However, after a relatively smooth election last month, foreign exchange inflows rose in the week that ended on March. 8.

(Reporting by Sahar Ahmed)