Bangladesh Bank has purchased more than US$5.0 billion from commercial banks over the past seven months in a sustained effort to keep the dollar-taka exchange rate stable and support exporters and remitters.
The latest intervention came as inward remittance inflows strengthened sharply in early February, allowing the central bank to bolster reserves while managing currency volatility.
As part of its ongoing market operations, Bangladesh Bank on Monday bought a further $145 million from 11 commercial banks through an auction in the interbank spot market.
The purchase was conducted under the Multiple Price Auction method, with a cut-off rate of Tk 122.30 per dollar, officials said.
Earlier, on February 10, the central bank bought $171 million from 11 banks through a similar auction.
Since July 13 last year, the banking regulator has directly purchased a total of $5.04 billion from banks under the prevailing free-floating exchange rate regime.
The latest intervention comes amid a surge in inward remittances during the first half of the current month.
Remittance inflows rose by nearly 26 per cent to $1.65 billion during February 1-15 this year, compared with $1.31 billion in the same period last year.
“We’re purchasing US dollars directly from banks to offset the higher remittance inflows ahead of Holy Ramadan and following the recently concluded national election,” a senior Bangladesh Bank official told The Financial Express, explaining the current market situation.
He said such intervention helps maintain stability in the exchange rate of the US dollar against the Bangladesh taka (BDT), thereby encouraging both exporters and remitters.
“The intervention is also playing a role in strengthening the country’s foreign exchange reserve position,” the official added.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s gross foreign exchange reserves rose to $34.31 billion on February 10, up from $34.06 billion the previous day, according to the central bank’s traditional calculation.
Under the International Monetary Fund’s Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6) framework, the reserves stood at $29.69 billion during the same period, compared with $29.47 billion previously, according to the latest central bank data.
https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/first-page/bb-buys-50b-in-7-months-to-stabilise-forex-rate-1771265664
