Interbank exchange rate of US$ rises to Tk 94.70

The interbank exchange rate of dollars rose further to Tk94.70 on Monday as taka was devalued by Tk 0.25, down from Tk 94.45 a day ago.

Bangladesh Bank spokesperson Serajul Islam confirmed it to The Business Post. He said the central bank continued to inject greenback into the money market to meet the dollar demand.

The BB sold $132 million on Monday at the new rate and the foreign exchange reserve stood at $39.61 billion, he said.

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According to the Bangladesh Bank data, taka was devalued by 1.33 per cent between July 3 and July 25 this year while the devaluation was 11.67 per cent compared to the same period of the last year.

As the dollar crisis continues, economists suggested continued devaluation of the currency to discourage imports.

On Sunday, at a dialogue organised by Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) the prominent economists further recommended it.

In addition, the new dollar rate is even higher in the open market. It went up to Tk 105 against a dollar. The difference between interbank and open market dollar price exceeded Tk 10.

An increase in the value of the dollar in the open market is not impacting the main market. But it is important for remittance income.

If the difference between interbank and open market dollar price increases remittance flow will decline through legal channel.

According to the central bank, exchange rate of taka for interbank and customer transactions are set by the dealer banks based on demand-supply interaction.

Demand for the dollar increased due to the post-corona demand surge and an abnormal increase in import costs due to the Ukraine-Russia war.

The July-May period of the last financial year’s import payment increased by 39 per cent to $75.40 billion compared to the same period of the previous financial year.