The local currency Taka has been appreciated against US dollar after a lapse of almost three years.
The exchange rate of greenback was depreciated by almost 2 paisa to Tk 84.88 on Thursday.
Taka was appreciated last in 26 December 2016.
During the three years, the local currency was depreciated by almost Tk 6.10 or 7.74 percent to Tk 84.90 to meet higher import payment.
Bangladesh Bank officials said, “The foreign exchange market has recently faced slightly lower demand for dollar following a higher inflow of remittance and lower import payment obligations.”
They said, “The government has started giving 2 percent cash incentive on money remitted by expatriate Bangladeshis to remove the burden of increased expenses in sending remittances, which has encouraged expatriates to send more money through formal channel.”
They expect the remittance would stand a record of $1.7 billion in December this year as the country received more than $1.0 billion in remittance in the first 17 days of this month.
However, the remittance inflow stood at almost $7.71 billion during July-November in fiscal year 2019-20, according to the Bangladesh Bank (BB).
This inflow increased by 22.70 percent compared to the same period of time last year, which was $6.28 billion.
On the other hand, import payment also has maintained a falling trend in recent months mainly due to lower imports of food grains and capital machinery.
The country's overall import fell to $18.14 billion during July-October in FY-20, down 3.0 percent from $18.73 billion during the same period of previous fiscal.
Eminent economist and former BB governor Dr Salehuddin Ahmed told The Bangladesh Post the foreign exchange market has recently faced dollar crisis due to increased import pressure.
The central bank should not intervene by selling US dollar in the foreign exchange market all the time, Ahmed said, adding that the strong dollar rate against Taka will encourage expatriates to send more remittance home side by side helping to get higher export earnings for traders.
In this case, the government should find out proper indicatives on how to increase remittance and export side by side to reduce unnecessary imports, he added.
Islami Bank treasury head Nazrul Islam told The Bangladesh Post that, now the foreign exchange market is facing a huge demand for greenback is not only for higher import payment but also for meeting necessities of others especially those people who go abroad for various purposes.
The local currency has recently appreciated as the central bank sold US dollar directly to commercial banks to meet higher import payment as well as lower import payment, he mentioned.
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