Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – The central bank bought US$ 503 million from the commercial banks in July last to keep the inter-bank foreign exchange (forex) market stable, officials said.
“We’ve purchased the US dollars from the banks directly to protect the interest of the exporters and migrant workers by keeping the exchange rate of the local currency against the greenback stable,” a senior official at the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told BBN in Dhaka.
He also said such intervention would continue in line with the market requirements.
As part of the move, the central bank bought $20 million on Thursday from two private commercial banks at market rate.
The US dollar was quoted at BDT 77.50-BDT 77.52 in the inter-bank forex on the day against BDT 77.52 of the previous day, market operators said.
The country’s reserve reached $21.38 billion on Thursday from $21.34 billion of the previous working day, following the US dollars’ purchase.
The central bank purchased a record $5.15 billion from the banks in the fiscal year (FY) 2013-14 on the same ground.
BBN/SSR/AD-03Aug14-12:32 pm (BST)
