Taka gains after months

Local currency taka gained in value by Tk 0.50 to Tk 91.5 per US dollar at the interbank platform yesterday after facing a continuous slide in the last couple of months. 

A Bangladesh Bank official said this might be a temporary phenomenon as the country's foreign exchange market was still under pressure due to a shortage of US dollars.

The central bank yesterday injected $124 million into the market to offset the shortage in the market.

A record $6.59 billion has been injected into the market between July 1 and June 8 this fiscal year, according to data from Bangladesh Bank.

In spite of this, the foreign exchange market is still facing a shortage of US dollars due to soaring import payments and a declining trend in the inflow of remittance.

The country's import payments have shot up since the end of last year because of the rising prices of commodities in the global market.

As the pandemic started to wind down, pent-up demand started to surface, initially playing a pivotal role in pushing up commodity prices.

The pandemic had disrupted the global supply chain, deepening the crisis and the Russia-Ukraine war worsened the situation.

Against this backdrop, the country's import payments escalated in recent months, creating an immense pressure on the taka against the US dollar.

BB Seeks Explanation From Private Bank

The central bank sent a letter to a private bank yesterday seeking an explanation as to why it had purchased US dollars at a rate higher than the market price, said a BB official.

The bank had purchased dollars at an auction organised by Bangladesh Cricket Board. It bought $5 million in total, each dollar for Tk 97.50, which is much higher than the rates offered by banks to exporters and remitters.

The bank has been asked to give a reply within today, said a BB official.