The local currency Taka depreciated a further Tk 1.60 on Monday against the US dollar to stand at Tk 91.50, record high in the country’s history, thanks to the growing import payments.
On that day, Bangladesh Bank sold about $10 million directly to commercial banks from the foreign exchange reserves to stabilize the forex market.
The Central Bank has sold a record of about $6 billion directly to commercial banks on higher import payments during the first 11 months in the current fiscal.
On Thursday, the central bank depreciated the local currency again by Tk 0.90 to reset the exchange rate at Tk 89.90 per US dollar.
Market analysts said the central bank usually sells US dollars directly to commercial banks to meet higher demand for the greenback. It is a sign of the economic stability of the country, they added.
Md Serajul Islam, spokesperson and an executive director of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) said, “The rate at which Bangladesh Bank sells dollars to banks is considered as the interbank selling rate. On Monday, the dollar rate was Tk 91.50.”
However, the Bangladesh Bank on 26 May had fixed a uniform rate for selling dollars by all banks for international trade.
However, they withdrew this provision from 2 June and said that banks can set the rates for remittance and Letters of Credit (LC) on their own accord.
A senior official of the treasury department of a state-owned bank said that the rate set by Bangladesh Bank for the collection of remittances would have a major impact. So, the rate has been lifted by the central bank.
However, banks have been asked to be vigilant so that the price of dollar is not increased suddenly. The foreign exchange houses have been asked to ensure the same.
In interbank transactions alone, the taka has depreciated by more than about 3 percent against the US dollar since April 2021. In April last, the exchange rate was Tk84.8.
On 12 April, following an inter-ministerial meeting, the BPC was told to pay the fuel oil bill by purchasing dollars at the market rate or the interbank rate.
Although in the interbank forex market, per dollar sold at Tk 91.50, the greenback sold at the rate of Tk 97-Tk 98.20 in the open or curb market.
Earlier, on 17 May, the price of $1 rose to Tk102 in the kerb market.
