Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The central bank of Bangladesh has sold US$15 million more to two commercial banks directly to meet the growing demand for the greenback in the market, officials said.
“The central bank has sold the US currency to the banks at market rate on Monday to settle their import payment obligations,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, told BBN in Dhaka.
However, the exchange rate of Bangladesh Taka (BDT) depreciated by two paisa against the US dollar on the day mainly due to higher demand for the greenback in the market.
The US dollar was quoted at BDT 80.82 each on Monday against BDT 80.80 of the previous working day, according to the market operators.
The central bank may continue providing such support to the banks in line with the market requirement, the BB official hinted.
A total of $110 million was sold to the banks between October 01 and October 16, according to official figures.
The BB has resumed providing the foreign exchange support in the recent months through selling of the US currency to the banks directly to keep the market stable.
A total of $264 million was sold since July 01 of this fiscal year, 2017-18, to the commercial banks as part of its ongoing support, according to BB’s latest data.
The market operators said the demand for the US dollar is gradually increasing, mainly due to higher import payments pressure, particularly of capital machinery, petroleum products and consumer items including food grains.
BBN/SSR/AD