Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The central bank purchased over US$2.0 billion from banks in the past three months to stabilize the dollar-taka rate and encourage exporters and remitters.
As part of the intervention, Bangladesh Bank (BB) bought $107 million from 10 commercial banks in the interbank spot market on Thursday through auction, with the cutoff rate set at Tk 121.80 per dollar.
Earlier, on October 6, BB had purchased $104 million from eight banks in a similar auction.
So far, BB has bought $2.09 billion through 14 auctions since July 13 under the prevailing free-floating exchange rate arrangement, according to central bank officials.
“The intervention in the foreign exchange market will continue to help keep the exchange rate of the US dollar against the local currency stable,” a senior central banker said.
He also added the move is supporting exporters and remitters while also strengthening the country’s foreign exchange reserves, enhancing its capacity to absorb potential external shocks.
Bangladesh’s gross forex reserves rose to $31.94 billion on Thursday from $31.68 billion on October 6, as per the central bank’s traditional calculation.
Under the IMF’s BPM6 methodology, reserves stood at $27.12 billion during the period under review, up from $26.80 billion, according to BB data.
BBN/SSR/AD