BB buys another $100m through dollar auction

Bangladesh Bank today (18 May) purchased $100 million from six commercial banks through auctions.

The dollars were purchased at Tk122.75 per dollar, Bangladesh Bank Executive Director and Spokesperson Arief Hossain Khan confirmed.

With this latest purchase, the central bank has bought a total of $5.98 billion in the current fiscal year.

“In this month alone, the central bank purchased $310 million. It began dollar purchases through auctions in July of the current fiscal year,” Arief added. 

Following the settlement of import liabilities under the Asian Clearing Union (ACU), the country’s foreign exchange reserves fell below $30 billion this month, prompting the central bank to purchase dollars both before and after ACU payments.

ACU payments are settled every two months to clear import bills among member countries.

In addition to Bangladesh, the regional mechanism includes India, Bhutan, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Central banks of these countries conduct transactions through this multilateral system. 

According to BB officials, the central bank primarily boosts foreign exchange reserves through dollar purchases, with its latest data released on 14 May showing reserves at $29.65 billion.

Bangladesh Bank has been purchasing dollars amid strong remittance inflows into the banking system. In April, remittances reached $3.12 billion, up 13.5% year-on-year, with inflows expected to remain strong ahead of Eid-ul-Adha this month.