Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - The Bangladesh Taka (BDT) continued to lose its value against the US dollar in the last week due to higher demand for the greenback for settlement of import payment bills.
“The higher volume of import payments for petroleum products and fertilizer has created huge demand for the US currency in the inter-bank foreign exchange market,” a senior treasury official of a commercial bank told BBN in Dhaka on Saturday.
The import orders for fuel oils increased by nearly 27 percent to $493.52 million in the month of October last from $389.07 million in the previous month while the letters of credit (LCs) against imports worth $499.51 million were settled in October 2011 against $365.88 million in September last, according to the central bank statistics.
The USD/BDT started the week trading at 76.72 level and broke the 77.00 level on Thursday, the treasury official said, adding that USD/BDT finished the week trading between 76.98 to 77.01 ranges.
BBN/SSR/AD-03Dec11-11:59 pm (BST)