Forex reserves cross $29b

Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserves crossed the $29-billion mark mainly due to a dearth of investment.

The amount stood at $29.1 billion yesterday, which is sufficient to meet the country’s import bills for 9.41 months, an official of Bangladesh Bank said.

The figure is deemed satisfactory if it meets import bills of five to six months, according to new standards. The reserves reached $28 billion in February.

The reserves have been hitting new highs every month or two due to a lack of demand for investment, economists said at a pre-budget discussion with the finance minister recently.

Faster growth of exports compared to imports is another reason behind the hike in the reserves, the BB official said.

Exports grew 8.95 percent year-on-year to $24.95 billion in July-March of the current fiscal year, while imports rose 6.44 percent to $25.63 billion in July-February, according to central bank data.

The central bank has to purchase dollars from the market every month to keep the exchange rate stable since the demand for the foreign currency is not high right now.

The BB, since July 1 till Sunday, has bought $3.3 billion to keep the exchange rate stable and protect the interests of exporters and importers.