The country’s foreign exchange reserves reached $30.02 billion on Wednesday mainly due to the growing trend of remittance ahead of Eid-ul-Azha and some funds added as budget support.
Bangladesh Bank assistant spokesperson Md Sarwar Hossain confirmed the matter. The forex reserves stood at $29 billion in the last month due to USD selling spree of the regulator.
The forex reserves had reached $41.43 billion in the same month last year.
Sarwar, also the director of the Foreign Exchange Policy Department at Bangladesh Bank, mentioned that some banks sold USD to the central bank on Wednesday.
However, the Bangladesh Bank pumped $77 million into the banks the same day. It had pumped over $13 billion into the banks in FY23.
During the 16 days of this June, Bangladeshi expatriates sent $1.12 billion to the country. The inflow will continue to increase until Eid vacation, insiders say.
Trade deficit and current account deficit both went down during the 10 months of current FY, but the financial account deficit stands at $2.16 billion, which is now a big concern.
Between July and April of FY23, the financial account registered a deficit of $2.16 billion in contrast to a surplus of $11.95 billion a year ago, show latest data from the Bangladesh Bank.
The deficit was $2.04 billion during the July to March period of FY23.
A financial account is a component of a country’s balance of payments, and it covers claims on or liabilities to non-residents concerning financial assets.
Financial account components include direct investment, portfolio investment, and reserve assets.
In a recent press conference, Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder had said, “The current crisis in the forex market will be mitigated soon as a large amount of foreign loans are in the pipeline.”
