US dollar strengthens further against taka

The central bank today depreciated the value of the taka by Tk 0.25 as the demand for the US dollar shows no sign of slowing down, said an official of the Bangladesh Bank.   

This brought the inter-bank exchange rate of the USD to Tk 94.70, up from Tk 94.45 fixed on July 21.

On July 21 last year, the American greenback traded at Tk 84.80, meaning there has been an 11.67 per cent loss in the value of the local currency in a year.

However, banks do not follow the rate fixed by the BB while buying and selling US dollars since demand outweighs supply. 

Mohammad Hatem, executive president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said local banks were paying them Tk 93-Tk 94 per US dollar when they encashed their export proceeds.

But when they opened letters of credit to import raw materials and capital machinery, banks were charging Tk 103-Tk 104 per USD, he said. 

According to Mohammed Mahbubur Rahman Patwari, a former chairman of the Bangladesh Jute Mills Association, exporters are getting Tk 92-93 for a dollar. 

Banks are buying US dollars from remitters at Tk 102, said a number of bankers. 

The rate in the kerb market, the unofficial channel, has shot up to Tk 107.50 per USD. 

Bangladesh's foreign exchange market is facing a shortage of US dollars due to rising import payments and declining inflows of remittance.

Between July and May of last fiscal year, import payments went up by 39 per cent year-on-year to $75.40 billion while exports grew 33 per cent to $44.58 billion.

The inflow of remittance fell 15 per cent year-on-year to $21.03 billion in the fiscal year of 2021-22.

Foreign exchange reserves stood at $39.67 billion on Wednesday, in contrast to $46.15 billion in December.