Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - The central bank of Bangladesh is going to expedite purchase of the US dollar from banks ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha festival in an attempt to keep the inter-bank foreign exchange market stable, officials said.
Talking to BBN, a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, said the BB is likely to boost purchase of the US dollar from the banks to maintain a balance between supply and demand as inflow of the foreign currency ahead of the Eid is expected to rise.
The central banker also said the supply side of the foreign currency might be improved during the period due to higher inflow of remittances along with steady growth in export earnings.
Bangladesh received $160.47 million as remittances between September 01 and September 04 from Bangladeshi nationals living and working abroad, according to the central bank's latest statistics.
The central banker official expressed the hope that the inflow of remittances might exceed $ 1.20 billion by the end of this month if the existing trend of inward remittances continues.
The central bank is purchasing the US dollar from the banks continuously to protect the interests of exporters and migrant workers by keeping the exchange rate of local currency against the greenback stable.
Such purchase helps the banks to comply with the net open position (NOP) rules for holding foreign exchange properly, the central banker explained.
Talking to BBN, a senior private banker said the exchange rate of the local currency against the US dollar remained stable due to weak demand for the greenback in the market because of lower import payment obligations.
He also said falling trend of commodities including fuel oil prices in the global market has contributed to lower import payment pressures on the economy in the recent months.
BBN/SSR/AD