Written by The Banking Post
The Bangladesh Bank on Wednesday bought another $109 million from eight commercial banks through an interbank spot auction, aiming to keep the dollar-taka exchange rate stable.
The dollars were purchased under the Multiple Price Auction method, with a cut-off rate of Tk 122.30 per US dollar, central bank officials said.
The latest intervention comes amid a surge in inward remittances in the first half of February. Between February 1 and 17, remittance inflows rose nearly 25 per cent year-on-year to $1.97 billion, up from $1.58 billion in the same period last year.
“We’re purchasing the US dollars from banks directly to offset the higher inflow of remittances ahead of the Holy Ramadan,” a senior central bank official said.
He added that the intervention is helping maintain exchange rate stability, which in turn supports exporters and encourages remitters to send funds through formal channels.
The central bank has bought a total of $5.15 billion from banks since July 13 under the current market-based exchange rate regime, according to official data.
“The ongoing intervention is also contributing to a gradual strengthening of the country’s foreign exchange reserves,” the official noted.
Gross foreign exchange reserves stood at $34.54 billion on February 17, up from $34.32 billion a week earlier, based on the central bank’s traditional calculation.
Under the IMF’s BPM6 methodology, reserves rose to $29.86 billion from $28.69 billion over the same period.
