Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – The central bank of Bangladesh has sold US$ 25 million more to three commercial banks directly to meet the growing demand for the greenback in the market.
“We’ve sold the US currency to the banks at market rate on Wednesday to settle their import payment obligations,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, told BBN in Dhaka.
The Bangladesh Taka (BDT) depreciated six paisa more against the US dollar on the day following higher demand for the greenback in the market.
The exchange rate of the BDT against the US dollar was quoted at maximum BDT 81.00 on Wednesday against BDT 80.95 of the previous working day, according to the market operators.
The BB official, however, hinted that the central bank may continue providing such support to the banks for ensuring the market stability.
The central bank 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 $340 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