Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)– Bangladesh’s foreign exchange (forex) reserved crossed US$26 billion-mark for the first time on Monday following lower prices of commodities particularly fuel oils in the global market, officials said.
The country’s foreign exchange reserve rose to $26.03 billion on Monday from $25.90 billion of the previous working day following the US dollar purchase.
“Our forex reserve crosses $26 billion mainly due to lower import payment pressure,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the BBN in Dhaka.
He also said steady growth of both export earnings and inward remittance has contributed to increasing the country’s forex reserve position.
Besides, purchasing of the US dollar from the commercial banks has helped boosting forex reserve position recently, he added.
A total of $1.14 billion was brought from the commercial banks between July 2 and August 17 of the current fiscal year (FY), 2015-16, for offsetting its increased supply to the market.
The central banker also hinted the BBN on Sunday that the Bangladesh Bank will continue to purchase the US dollar from the banks in line with the market requirement.
Besides, the country received $590.03 million as remittance between August 1 and August 14 from Bangladeshi nationals who are working abroad, according to the central bank’s statistics.
Earlier on June 25 last, the country’s forex reserve crossed the US$25 billion-mark for the first time following steady growth of both export earnings and the flow of inward remittances.
BBN/SS/ANS