Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)– The central bank has continued purchasing the US dollar from the commercial banks directly to help keep the inter-bank foreign exchange (forex) market stable, officials said,
As part of the move, the Bangladesh Bank (BB) bought US$35 million from two private commercial banks on Tuesday, they added.
The banks are Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) and Prime Bank Limited.
“We’ve bought the US currency from the banks at market rate to protect the protect the interests of exporters and migrant workers by keeping the exchange rate of the Bangladesh Taka (BDT) against the US dollar stable,” a BB senior official told BBN in Dhaka.
The US dollar was quoted at BDT 77.80 in the inter-bank forex market unchanged from the previous level, market operators said.
A total of around $1.78 billion was bought from the commercial banks between July 2 and February 17 of the current fiscal year (FY) 2014-15 for offsetting its increased supply to the market.
The country’s foreign exchange reserve rose to $22.53 billion on Tuesday from $22.45 billion of the previous day following the US dollar purchase.
BBN/SSR/AD-18Feb15-9:47 am (BST)
