The country’s foreign exchange market is stabilising thanks to a surge in US dollar (USD) inflows, driven by higher remittances, stronger export earnings and tighter oversight by the central bank.

Stability in the forex market is vital to minimise risks.

The market will determine the price of the US dollar in the future once the current situation centring it improves, according to Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder.

Import bills rose 63 per cent year-on-year to $7.66 billion in July but it declined from a month ago, signalling the easing of international payment pressure thanks to the recent Bangladesh Bank efforts to cool down the volatile foreign exchange market. 

Foreign currency transactions through cards hit an all-time high of Tk 356 crore in May due to a rise in the number of travellers going abroad.

Bangladesh observed a prohibitive current account deficit of $17.1 billion in the last fiscal year of 2021-22. It, however, averaged $0.32 billion annually over the 12-year period from 2009 to 2021.  

The central bank of Bangladesh will have to use the monetary policy to stabilise the foreign exchange market to pave the way for curbing inflation through demand management, said Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh.

Volatility in the country’s foreign exchange market has intensified once again as Bangladesh Bank has commenced tinkering with the exchange rate of the taka against the US dollar.

The Bangladesh Bank today decided not to fix the exchange rate of the US dollars, allowing the market to set the price based on demand and supply.

Inflow of remittance declined 13.15 per cent in May as the expatriate Bangladeshis are now sending their income through the informal channels.

The Bangladesh Bank yesterday raised its key interest rate for the first time in a decade and devalued the local currency for the seventh time this year against the dollar as part of its moves to tackle inflationary forces and restore stability in the foreign exchange market.  

National Board of Revenue today slapped up to 20 percent regulatory duty on around 135 products as part of the government's broader objectives to discourage imports and contain volatility in the foreign exchange market.

Five of the world's largest banks are to pay fines totalling $5.7bn (£3.6bn) for manipulating the foreign exchange market, US officials say.