BBN file photo
Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The exchange rate of Bangladesh Taka weakened further against the dollar on Thursday, despite the central bank’s foreign currency support.
The local currency depreciated by five poisha in the inter-bank foreign exchange market on the day, mainly due to higher demand for the greenback, according to market operators.
The demand for the dollar is gradually increasing, mostly driven by higher import payment, particularly for intermediate goods, oil and capital machinery for power plants.
The dollar was quoted at BDT 84.80 each in the inter-bank foreign exchange market on Thursday against BDT 84.75 of the previous working day.
The BDT’s latest depreciation came against the backdrop of falling trend in the export income during the first four months of this fiscal.
Bangladesh’s export earnings dropped by nearly 7.0 per cent to $12.72 billion during the July-October period of the FY ’20 from $13.65 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to the Export Promotion Bureau, EPB, statistics.
Meanwhile, the local currency depreciated by 90 poisha against the greenback in the inter-bank forex market from January 02 to November 14.
The greenback was quoted at BDT 84.80 each in the inter-bank market on November 14 against BDT 83.90 on January 02 this calendar year.
Senior bankers, however, predicted that the pressure on the country’s foreign exchange market may increase in December due to the lower export income in recent months.
The local currency has been maintaining a depreciating trend against the US dollar in recent months mainly due to higher demand for the greenback in the market.
“The demand for the greenback may increase further in near future unless the central bank continues its adequate foreign currency support,” a senior treasury official at a leading private commercial bank predicted.
BBN/SSR/AD