BD’s forex reserves surpass $26b
Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves have once again risen above the $26 billion threshold, according to Bangladesh Bank.
Arief Hossain Khan, Executive Director and spokesperson of the central bank on Wednesday said that under the BPM-6 standard, the gross reserves stood at $26.08 billion.
“Reserves are increasing due to stronger remittance inflows and the central bank’s dollar purchases from commercial banks through auctions,” he told The Business Standard.
He further noted, “That is why reserves rebounded after the ACU settlement.”
Earlier this month, reserves had slipped below $26 billion when Bangladesh cleared $1.50 billion in dues to the Asian Clearing Union (ACU), bringing the gross reserves down to $25.39 billion.
The ACU is a regional settlement system for cross-border transactions that includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
Member countries’ central banks use this mechanism to clear import bills every two months.