Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)– Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserve crossed US$ 10 billion mark again on Monday, thanks to lower import payments, officials said.
The foreign exchange (forex) reserve rose to $10.007 billion on the day from $9.859 billion on the previous working day, according to the central bank statistics.
The country’s forex reserve stood at $10.02 billion on March 5 this year.
“The country’s foreign exchange reserve position has improved recently due mainly to lower import payments and steady growth of inward remittance along with export proceeds repatriation,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) said, adding that the exchange rate of the US dollar against the local currency was stable compared to the Indian and Sri Lankan Rupees.
The US dollar was quoted at BDT 81.82- BDT 81.83 in the inter-bank foreign exchange market on Monday against BDT 81.79-BDT 81.83 on the previous working day, the market operators said.
The country received $760.47 million as remittances between April 1 and April 20 from Bangladeshi nationals, who are working abroad, another BB official said.
“We expect that the inflow of remittances may cross $1.10 billion by the end of this month,” the central banker said, adding that the central bank was working continuously to boost the flow of inward remittances.
Bangladeshi nationals working abroad sent US$ 1.107 billion in the month of March last, lower by $25.52 million than the amount remitted in the previous month. In February 2012, the remittance was $1.133 billion, the BB data showed.
BBN/SSR/AD-24Apr12-9:40 am (BST)
