Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The central bank of Bangladesh has sold US$ 21 million more to three commercial banks directly to meet the growing demand for the greenback in the market.
“The central bank has sold the US currency to the banks at market rate on Thursday to settle their import payment obligations,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, told BBN in Dhaka.
The US dollar was quoted at BDT 80.90 each on the day unchanged from the previous level, according to the market operators.
“We may continue providing such support to the banks for ensuring the market stability,” the BB official noted.
The central bank has resumed providing the foreign exchange support in the recent months through selling of the US currency to the banks directly to keep the market stable.
A total of $315 million was sold since July 01 of this fiscal year, 2017-18, to the commercial banks as part of its ongoing support, according to BB’s latest data.
The market operators said the demand for the US dollar is gradually increasing, mainly due to higher import payments pressure, particularly of capital machinery, petroleum products and consumer items including food grains.
BBN/SSR/AD