Local FX Market
US dollar was bullish against Bangladeshi taka in this week. Higher demand for import related payment pushed the rate of the greenback higher against Bangladeshi taka.

Money Market
Bangladesh Bank borrowed BDT 3,140.00 million through the Treasury bill auction held on Sunday, compared with BDT 1,322.00 million in the previous week's bid. No significant change was seen in the weighted average yields of t-bills of different tenors from the previous bid.

Call money rate eased in this week on back of improved liquidity. The rate ranged between 4.50 and 5.00 percent in the beginning of the week, but ended the week at 3.00-3.50 percent.

International FX Market
In the beginning of the week, the dollar held near 7-1/2 month lows of just beyond $1.25 per euro, after weak US data on Friday hit US rate rise expectations and took two cents off the currency's value against the euro. Weak US consumer sentiment, softer-than-expected industrial output and a bearish New York state manufacturing survey all suggested the US economy might be losing steam. Only much stronger-than-expected US retail sales data provided fleeting support for the dollar.

The dollar fell to a fresh 7-1/2 month low against the euro on Wednesday and a three-month trough on the Swiss franc as uncertainty lingered about the health of the US economy and interest rate outlook. The yen came under pressure briefly as Tokyo stocks fell 1.65 percent. But given the export-oriented economy's reliance on oil, a recent fall in oil prices underpinned the currency near this week's three-month high on the dollar. Sterling was trading close to recent 9-month lows against the euro ahead of UK mortgage lending data for September and minutes of the Bank of England's October meeting at 0830 GMT.

Later in the week, the dollar fell to a three-month low against the yen as traders zoomed in on growing concerns about the US economic outlook and the yawning trade deficit amid a lack of fresh economic data. The dollar fell through 108 yen for the first time since July 12 and inched down to a two-month low versus sterling. It stayed in sight of eight-month lows against the euro and the Swiss franc. In the past 2 weeks, the dollar has slid 3.3 percent against the yen and about 3 percent versus the euro as simmering concerns about the trade deficit resurfaced following recent weak US data. Data on Monday shows net fund inflows to US markets dropped to $59 billion in August, the lowest figures in nearly a year and barely above the level needed to finance the trade deficit.

- Standard Chartered Bank