Adjusting the price with new rates, the privately run commercial banks sold dollar at the highest Tk 65.80 for imports, sources in banks said.

Exporters and remitters, on the other hand, will get more money as banks adjusted their buying rates as well.

"The present high trend in dollar price will push import cost further up. Essential prices will go up as our dependency on imports is rising to meet the growing demand," said a banker at a nationalised commercial bank (NCB).

However, economists hope that such small depreciation of taka will have positive impact on the country's economy.

Bangladesh Bank has already sent an advice for adjusting the import bill of $350 million to Asian Clearing Union (ACU), sources said.

Normally, Bangladesh has to pay around $200 million in ACU bill every two months. But due to a huge rise in import, the government will have to pay $350 million this time. As a result, the foreign exchange reserve will go down substantially from $3 billion mark. The foreign exchange reserve as on Saturday was US$3, 116.7 million.

Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are members of ACU. The foreign exchange reserve has been under pressure following an unusual rise in opening letters of credit (L/Cs).

According to BB sources, LCs worth more than one billion-dollar is being opened every month. The value of L/Cs opening during July-May period of 2004-05 fiscal year amounted to US$ 13.01 billion, up by 17.22 percent over the same period during FY2003-04.

Dismissing dollar crisis, Finance and Planning Minister M Saifur Rahman recently blasted some banks for opening huge number of L/Cs on speculation. "There is no dollar crisis in the country. We have adequate reserve," he said.

The central bank, according to BB sources, has injected around US$ 500 million from January to the first week of July in the market and pumped around $130 million in June alone.