For the last two years, the value of the taka against dollar in the country's money market has been declining. On Monday (May 16), the value of the taka was reduced by a further Tk0.8 against the dollar.
Even within the last month, Bangladesh Bank reduced the value of the taka three times against the dollar, resulting in a total devaluation of Tk1.3.
Today one had to spend Tk87.50 to buy each dollar in the interbank money market. A day ago, the price was Tk86.70 per dollar. On May 10, it was Tk86.45 and on April 27, it was Tk86.20.
Meanwhile, banks are selling each dollar at Tk5 to Tk7 more.
On the other hand, dollars are being traded at Tk92 to Tk97 in the open market or carb market outside the bank.
According to the market analysis, from July 2020 to August last year, the dollar was stable at Tk84.80 in the interbank money market. But since then, the dollar crisis has begun due to paying off large import costs, which is continuing now.
At the beginning of August 2021, the value of each dollar in the interbank market was the same. On August 22 last year, the price of the dollar went up to Tk85 for the first time.
On January 9 this year, it increased to Tk86. After that, the rate was fixed till March 22.
Later on March 23, it increased by another Tk0.20 at the interbank market and stood at Tk86.20. On April 27, it again increased by Tk0.25 to Tk86.45.
The dollar price further increased on May 10 by another Tk0.25. On Monday, it increased by Tk0.80. As a result, the dollar is now trading at Tk87.5 in the interbank currency market, which is the highest ever.
In other words, the value of the taka in the country's money market was devalued by Tk2.70 in the last 9 months.
Regarding the matter, Sirajul Islam, executive director and spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank told Dhaka Tribune: “The dollar is under pressure due to high import costs. For this reason, the rate of the dollar has been fixed at Tk87.5 considering the market.”
"Our hope is that exports will increase. We have imposed various restrictions, including cash margins, on imports of non-essential food items. We hope the market will stabilize soon," said Sirajul Islam.
“Exports were on the rise, with remittances reaching $200 million during Eid-ul-Fitr. In addition, Bangladesh Bank is providing dollars according to the demand of the banks,” he added.
The central bank has so far sold nearly $5 billion from the reserve directly to the commercial banks as liquidity support for settling their import-payment obligations in the current 2021-22 fiscal year.
Meanwhile, the settlement of letters of credit (LCs), generally known as actual import, in terms of value, rose by nearly 50% to $60.57 billion during the July-March period of FY22, from $40.48 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal, Bangladesh Bank data showed.
On the other hand, the opening of LCs, generally known as import orders, grew by more than 46% to $68.36 billion during the period from $46.81 billion in the same period of FY21.
Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserve has been falling in recent months following higher import payment obligations along with a lower flow of inward remittances.
According to Bangladesh Bank, the flow of inward remittances dropped by more than 16% to $17.31 billion during the July-April period of FY22, compared to $20.66 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal.
Bangladesh's foreign currency reserve came down to nearly $44 billion on May 9 from $44.07 billion on the previous working day, according to official figures.
Source DT
BDST: 2149 HRS, MAY 16, 2022
MSK
