Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - The central bank of Bangladesh has continued to purchase the US dollar from the commercial banks directly aiming to keep the inter-bank foreign exchange market stable, officials said.
As part of the move, the central bank bought $ 18 million Thursday from a commercial bank at the market rate to offset the increased supply of foreign exchange in the market.
The US dollar was quoted at BDT 81.70-- BDT 81.71 in the inter-bank foreign exchange market Thursday, unchanged from the previous level, market operators said.
“The central bank has expedited our intervention in the market recently to protect the interest of exporters and migrant workers through keeping the exchange rate of local currency against the greenback stable,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told BBN in Dhaka.
A total of $ 537 million was bought from the commercial banks in the first 26 days of the current fiscal year (FY 2012-13) as part of the BB’s intervention in the market, according to the central bank statistics.
The country’s foreign exchange reserve rose to $ 10.37 billion Thursday from $ 10.30 billion of the previous day, following the US dollar purchase.
The central bank may continue such intervention in line with the market requirement, the BB official said adding that the central bank is monitoring the market closely.
“The lower import payment pressure, the steady growth of inward remittance and the rising trend of export proceeds realisation have contributed to improving supply of foreign exchange in the market recently,” the central banker noted.
He also said the rising trend of foreign exchange supply may continue until the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr festival.
BBN/SSR/AD-27July12-2:30 pm (BST)
