Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Bangladesh’s foreign exchange (forex) reserve crossed the $28 billion-mark for the first time on Thursday following higher export earnings and lower import payment obligations .
“The country’s forex reserve has crossed the mark due mainly to higher export earnings and upward trend of inward remittance,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told BBN in Dhaka.
The reserve stood at $28.06 billion on the day despite making a payment worth $186 million as member quota allocation to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday, according to the central banker.
It was $27.05 billion on October 29 last.
He also said Bangladesh will be able to settle more than seven months import bills with the existing forex reserve.
Lower prices of commodities particularly petroleum products in the global market have also helped to raise the country’s forex reserve, the BB official explained.
Besides, purchasing of the US dollar from the commercial banks has contributed to increasing the forex reserve recently, another BB official told BBN in Dhaka.
The central bank continues to buy the greenback from the banks to help keep the inter-bank forex market stable.
A total of $2.56 billion was bought from the commercial banks between July 2 and February 25 of the current fiscal year (FY) 2015-16 as part of the BB’s intervention in the market.
The country received $827.26 million as remittances between February 01 and February 19 from Bangladeshi nationals who are working abroad, according to the central bank’s latest statistics.
In January 2016, the inflow of remittance was $1.15 billion.
BBN/SSR/AD