Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) -The central bank purchased US$54 million through auction from four banks in the interbank spot market on Sunday to maintain stability in the taka–dollar exchange rate.
Officials said the amount was bought under the Multiple Price Auction method, with the cutoff rate set at BDT 122.25 per dollar. At the previous auction on October 14, the cutoff rate was BDT 121.80.
Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, has so far purchased $2.28 billion directly from banks since July 13 under the prevailing free-floating exchange rate arrangement, according to official data.
“We’re purchasing the US dollar from banks to support exporters and remitters by keeping the exchange rate stable,” a senior BB official said, adding that the intervention is also helping strengthen the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
Bangladesh’s gross forex reserves edged up to $31.12 billion on Thursday from $31.10 billion on November 25 under the central bank’s traditional calculation.
Under the IMF’s Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6), the reserve position also rose slightly to $26.40 billion from $26.39 billion during the same period, the latest BB statistics showed.
BBN/SSR/AD