Home ›› 17 Nov 2021 ›› Front
The Bangladesh Bank has sold $323 million in just 16 days in November to halt taka slide as the foreign exchange market turns volatile due mainly to increasing trend of import payment.
The interbank exchange rate stood at Tk 85.80 per dollar on November 16, which was Tk 84.80 per dollar on June 16 this year, according to the latest data from the central bank.
The foreign exchange reserve fell to $45 billion from $46 billion in October due to the selling spree of US dollar.
The rising trend of import payment after the reopening of economy and the falling trend of remittance are key factors behind volatile situation in foreign exchange market, said the industry insiders.
During July-September period of this fiscal, the import payment rose 47.59 per cent to $17.32 billion year on year, as per the BB data.
The Bangladesh Bank has sold over $2 billion to the country’s banks this fiscal between August and November 16.
Earlier, the central bank purchased dollar amounting to $205 million till July this year, and it has now started selling the greenback from the month of August to meet its growing demand.
The BB purchased $7.93 billion from local banks in the last fiscal year.
Agrani Bank Managing Director and CEO Mohammad Shams-Ul Islam told The Business Post that the country’s business and the economy started to bounce back from the pandemic fallout which is the main reason for the rising demand of US dollar.
The declining trend of remittance and the end of deferral support on import payments are causing volatility of foreign exchange market, opined Mercantile Bank’s Additional Managing Director Matiul Hasan.
The inflow of remittance dropped for five consecutive months till October this year while the illegal cross-border transaction ‘hundi’ system saw a rise, he added.
The inflow of remittance has fallen by 21.65 per cent year on year in October to $1.64 billion, as per the latest data from the Bangladesh Bank.
