Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Bangladesh’s foreign exchange (forex) reserve has crossed the US$32 billion-mark further following lower import payment pressure on the economy, officials said.
The forex reserve rose to $32. 02 billion on Thursday from $31.91 billion of the previous working day, according to the central bank latest statistics, released on Monday.
The forex reserve was $32.05 billion on November 3 last.
“Our forex reserve has crossed the $32 billion-mark again due to lower import payment obligations,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told BBN in Dhaka.
He also said the country will be able to settle more than eight months import bills with the existing forex reserve.
Talking to BBN, another BB senior official said the pressures on overall import payment settlement have eased slightly in December than that of the previous month.
Bangladesh’s overall import increased by more than 12 per cent or US$416.85 million in November over the previous month, mainly due to higher import of fuel oils and fertilizers.
The actual import in terms of settlement of letters of credit (LCs) rose to $3.77 billion in November 2016 from $3.36 billion in October 2016. It was $3.20 billion in November 2015.
On the other hand, the opening of LCs, generally known as import orders, grew by 14 per cent to $4.37 billion last month from $3.83 billion in October. It was $4.10 million in November 2015.
BBN/SSR/AD