Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - The Bangladesh Bank (BB) purchased an additional US$60 million through auction from four banks in the interbank spot market on Sunday to help stabilise the exchange rate of the US dollar against the Bangladesh Taka (BDT).
The dollars were bought under the Multiple Price Auction method at a cut-off rate of BDT 122.30 per dollar, central bank officials said.
According to BB data, the central bank has so far bought US$2.93 billion directly from banks since July 13 under the prevailing free-floating exchange rate regime.
Talking to this correspondent, a senior BB official said the ongoing purchase of US dollars from scheduled banks is aimed at maintaining exchange-rate stability, a move that helps preserve export competitiveness and support remittance inflows.
He said the sales of dollars to the central bank have also eased liquidity pressure at some banks, including weaker ones, while contributing to a gradual strengthening of the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s gross foreign exchange reserves rose to $32.57 billion on December 18 from $32.48 billion a day earlier under the central bank’s traditional calculation method.
Under the International Monetary Fund’s Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, sixth edition (BPM6), reserves stood at $27.87 billion on December 18, up from $27.82 billion the previous day, BB data showed.
BBN/SSR/AD