Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The central bank of Bangladesh bought US$60 million more from six banks on Thursday to keep the inter-bank foreign exchange (forex) market stable, officials said.
“We’re purchasing the US currency continuously from the banks directly at market rate to protect the interests of exporters and migrant workers by keeping the exchange rate of the Bangladesh Taka (BDT) against the US dollar stable,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told BBN in Dhaka.
He also said such purchase may continue during the current fiscal year in line with the market requirements.”
The US dollar was quoted at BDT 78.40 in the inter-bank forex market on the day which remained unchanged from the previous level, market operators said.
A total of $ 364 million was bought from the commercial banks between July 11 and July 21 of the current fiscal year for offsetting its increased supply to the market, the BB data showed.
The country’s forex reserves reached $ 29.80 billion on Thursday from $ 29.75 billion on the previous day following the purchase of US dollar.
“The BB is now helping the banks through purchasing the US dollar from them to comply with the net open position (NOP) rules for holding foreign exchange properly,” a senior central banker told BBN in Dhaka.
BBN/SSR/AD