Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – The rate of US dollar in the inter-bank foreign exchange (forex) market hit maximum at BDT 84.20 on Thursday, the last working day of this week due mainly to higher demand for the greenback to settle import payments bills, treasury officials said.
The US Dollar (USD) started the week between 83.60 and 83.75 range and touched the 84.00 level on Monday, they added.
The local currency weakened by more than BDT 0.48 against the greenback in the week’s trading. The second half of the week saw the USD strengthening against the BDT to close the week at around 84.11 – 84.20 range.
“The BDT has been depreciating against the US currency in recent months due to short supply of the greenback in the market,” a senior treasury official of a commercial bank told BBN in Dhaka.
Higher imports of essential items including fertilizer, edible oil, sugar, raw materials and capital machinery for rental power plants pushed up the demand for the US currency recently, he said while explaining the reason for the short supply of the greenback.
The Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, however, expects the pressure on foreign currency exchange rate to ease gradually in the near future as there have been higher inflows of inward remittance and a steady growth of export earnings in the recent months.
“We expect that the monthly inflow of remittances would touch $1.20 billion by the end of January,” a BB senior official said, adding that the country received $544.12 million in remittances in the first two weeks of this month.
BBN/SSR/AD-20Jan12-3:44 pm (BST)
