BB buys $373m from 22 banks in latest dollar auction

Business Report :

The Bangladesh Bank has purchased $373 million from 22 commercial banks through a dollar auction on Tuesday, setting the floor price at Tk121.50 per dollar.

Confirming the matter, central bank spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan told the media that the central bank has bought a total of $484 million in two separate auctions over the past three days.
The purchased amount will be added to the country’s foreign exchange reserves tomorrow, he added.

The move signaled a clear intention by the central bank to stabilize the exchange rate after a sharp Tk3 drop over the last week.

Earlier on Monday, the US dollar gained as much as Tk1.8 in a single day, after the Bangladesh Bank lifted the market floor by purchasing greenbacks from banks at a higher rate through a historic auction.

Following the central bank’s move to buy $171 million at Tk121.50 per dollar on Sunday – its first-ever dollar purchase through an auction – commercial banks on Monday raised their buying rates for remittance dollars to as high as Tk120.80, up from Tk119 the previous day.