Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - The Bangladesh Bank (BB) sold US$5.0 million at market rate to a state-owned Sonali Bank Limited directly on Monday to meet the growing demand for the greenback.
"The central bank has sold the foreign currency to the SCB to settle outstanding letters of credit (LCs) against imports of petroleum products," a BB senior official told BBN, adding that the BB wants to minimize the mismatch between demand for, and supply of, foreign exchange in the market through providing such support to the commercial banks.
Besides, the central bank has provided providing overdraft (OD) facilities for $20 million to the same SCB in the same day on the same ground, the BB official added.
The BB has so far pumped $110 million directly to the commercial banks to meet their increasing demand for the greenback in the current fiscal year, according to the central bank statistics.
"Such liquidity support will continue in line with the market requirement," the central banker said, adding that the central bank is monitoring the overall situation in the foreign exchange market closely.
BBN/SSR/AD-18Oct11-11:17 am (BST)