The foreign exchange reserves of the country exceeded 20 billion US dollars once more. The gross foreign exchange reserves were 26.20 billion dollars at the start of this year, however the reserves estimated using BPM6 were 21.36 billion dollars. Data released Thursday, February 6, showed that the nation’s gross foreign exchange reserves were valued at $25.54 billion as of February 5. According to the BPM6 accounting technique used by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), reserves have grown to $20.20 billion. The usable reserves, however, remain within the range of $15 billion.
Reserves fell to $20 billion on January 9 after paying $1.67 billion for import bills for November and December through the Asian Clearing Union (ACU). On January 22, reserves declined once further, reaching a gross of 25.221 billion dollars and a BPM6-based reserve of 19.94 billion dollars, below the 20 billion mark. Usable reserves fell below $14 billion under the previous Awami League government. Reserves were boosted at the time by buying dollars from different commercial banks and taking out international loans. After the interim government took over in August, the new governor of Bangladesh Bank halted dollar sales from reserves and has been trying to source dollars from various channels. However, due to the repayment of previous obligations, reserves continue to fluctuate around the 20 billion dollar mark.
Source: The Daily Ittefaq
