The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has purchased an additional US$104 million from commercial banks through an auction to maintain stability in the foreign exchange market, raising the country’s foreign exchange reserves to $26.62 billion.
The central bank bought the dollars at a rate of Tk 121.80 from eight commercial banks on Monday, said BB spokesperson and executive director Arif Hossain Khan.
With this latest purchase, the central bank’s total acquisition through auctions in the current fiscal year has reached $1.98 billion.
Economists and bank officials have described the move as ‘essential’ for stabilising the volatile dollar market. While a sharp rise in the dollar rate pushes up import costs, a steep fall can hurt remittance inflows and export earnings, he said.
Officials said that purchasing dollars through auctions gives a slight advantage to remitters and exporters, supporting foreign currency earnings. At the same time, they said, the move is helping the central bank gradually rebuild its reserves.
Bangladesh Bank officials indicated that dollar purchases through auctions will continue until the market reaches a stable balance between demand and supply.
