3:13 AM
The Taka-dollar exchange rates have come down as the Bangladesh Bank has started to purchase the American bill from the local currency market.
Till the last month, the rate of $1 has dropped by Tk 0.45 in the local market.
On Monday, the Bangladesh Bank bought $25 million at Tk 78.50 per dollar.
The exchange rate was Tk 78.95 a month ago.
During the ongoing 2015-16 fiscal, the central bank has bought altogether $2.16 billion from the local market.
The steps taken by the BB comes in an effort to ‘stabilize’ the market amidst an increased supply of US dollars, said the central bank.
“The supply propped up due to increased export earnings and remittance inflow. Lower oil prices and import costs also contributed,” said Bangladesh Bank’s forex wing chief Kazi Sayedur Rahman.
The central bank official said these factors played significant roles in the value gain of Taka against US Dollars.
On November 30, the exchange rate was at Tk 78.95. On Monday it was Tk 78.50.
Before that, it was steady at Tk 77.80 for almost a year. From September last year, the taka started to fall against the greenback.
Official statistics show that in the three months from September to November, the exchange rate rose by Tk 1.15 before it started to fall again.
The demand for US dollars grew as exports and remittances hit a pull back for a short period of time, said Rahman, the general manager of central bank’s Forex Reserve and Treasury Management Division.
“At present, the payments for oil have dropped drastically. Import costs for food items are now lower. There’s a huge balance of payment surplus, so it’s natural that the taka is getting stronger,” he said.
According to central bank data, the exchange rate pumped up to Tk 85 in 2012. It gradually came down to Tk 77.40 in August 2014.
Bangladesh introduced a floating exchange rate in 2003, which means the market would determine the rate. However, the central bank has intervened on the rates from time to time.
Till now in the current fiscal, the Bangladesh Bank has bought $2.16 billion from the local market against the $3.4 billion in the entire last fiscal (2014-15).
Ittefaq
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