Muhid Hasan :
Bangladesh’s foreign-exchange reserves have climbed close to the US$31 billion mark, providing some relief for an economy grappling with multiple macroeconomic challenges.
According to the latest Bangladesh Bank (BB) data released on Sunday, the country’s gross reserves stood at US$30.81 billion. Under the IMF’s Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6) methodology, which excludes certain liabilities, the reserves were calculated at US$25.81 billion.
A year earlier, in August 2024, reserves had been measured at US$25.58 billion under the central bank’s conventional method, and US$20.47 billion using the IMF formula. Bangladesh’s reserves had reached a record high of US$48 billion in August 2021, but rising imports, a widening current account deficit and extensive dollar sales by the central bank to support the taka led to a sharp decline. The previous government sought a US$4.7 billion IMF bailout in July 2022 to stabilize the situation.
Economists attribute the recent recovery in reserves to stronger remittance inflows, sustained export earnings and the central bank’s renewed dollar purchases from commercial banks under the free-floating exchange rate regime.
During the first six weeks of the current fiscal year (July-17 August), remittance inflows amounted to US$3.90 billion, up from US$3.05 billion in the same period a year earlier. In the last financial year (FY25), remittances exceeded US$30 billion for the first time, reaching US$30.32 billion – a record annual increase of US$6.4 billion, or 26.8 per cent year-on-year.
Exports have also maintained robust growth. According to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, merchandise exports rose nearly 25 per cent in July 2025, the opening month of FY26, reaching US$4.77 billion compared with US$3.82 billion in the same month of FY25. In the full year FY25, export earnings stood at US$48.28 billion, up from US$44.46 billion in FY24. In addition, the central bank has purchased US$764 million from commercial banks through six auctions since 13 July, further strengthening the reserves position.
Looking ahead, the interim government projects that gross reserves could rise to US$34.4 billion by the end of FY26, supported by resilient remittance flows and strong export performance. Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H. Mansur said reserves had begun to grow again, adding that the longer-term target is to lift the figure to US$40 billion.
The external balance has also improved markedly. After closing FY25 with a surplus of around US$3.40 billion in the balance of payments – compared with a deficit of US$4.30 billion in the previous year – Bangladesh posted its first BoP surplus since the pandemic year of FY21, when the surplus reached US$9.27 billion.
Commenting on the trend, economist Professor Muinul Islam told The New Nation that rising remittance inflows, steady export growth and reduced illicit outflows under the present administration had all contributed to the improvement in reserves. He also highlighted the central bank’s tighter monitoring of hundi operations and potential money-laundering attempts as a crucial factor in curbing reserve depletion.
