BB resumes dollar sales after 14 months

Bangladesh Bank (BB) has resumed selling US dollars to the market after more than 14 months to meet rising demand and stabilise the foreign exchange market.

The central bank sold $11.50 million to six banks yesterday, officials said.

Today, the weighted average interbank exchange rate stood at Tk 123.35 per dollar, up from Tk 123.20 a day earlier, according to BB data.

There is a slight uptick in dollar demand in the foreign exchange market due to growing import payments amid rising global oil prices.

The US-Israel’s war on Iran has pushed up fuel prices globally, with Brent crude futures rising 1.3 percent to $107.05 a barrel on Tuesday.

BB data showed that import bills rose 8.6 percent year-on-year to $6.44 billion in July this year, driven by petroleum product imports, which jumped 83.3 percent to $1.37 billion in July of FY27.

Export earnings, however, slipped 1.6 percent to $4.35 billion during the month.

The recent dollar injection marks a shift in the central bank’s recent operations, as BB had purchased around $6 billion from the market over the last 14 months. The regulator started buying dollars in July 2025 amid improved inflows and easing pressure on the market.

An official of the central bank, seeking anonymity, told The Daily Star that this is part of routine market intervention.

“We will intervene in the market when the forex rate goes up or down,” he said.

He added that the country’s foreign exchange reserves are currently in a healthy position, leaving no room for concern.

The country’s reserves stood at $31.36 billion under the IMF’s BPM6 method as of September 10 this year, up from $25.68 billion during the same period last year, BB data showed.