NN Online:
The country’s reserves have dropped to $20 billion following the payment of $167 million in import bills for two months to the Asian Clearing Union (ACU).
Bangladesh Bank’s Executive Director and Spokesperson Husne Ara Shikha on Thursday revealed this information to the media.
“The government has paid $167 million in import bills for November and December to the ACU, resulting in a decrease in the country’s actual foreign currency reserves,” she said.
The spokesperson further informed that the current gross foreign reserves stand at $24.9 billion. According to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) BPM-6, the reserves now total $20 billion.
On Wednesday, the gross foreign reserves were $26.57 billion, and the BPM-6 reserves stood at $21.67 billion.
The ACU is an inter-country settlement system through which transactions between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan are settled. Under this system, the central banks of the involved countries settle import payments every two months.
