Forex reserves to go below $38bn after ACU payments Monday

Bangladesh’s forex exchange reserves remain under stress despite a fall in imports.  The country’s forex reserves will stand at $38 billion after the payment of $1.75 billion in import bills due — to the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) — for July-August, said an official of Bangladesh Bank.

The central bank will pay this import bill by Monday. Then the forex reserves will go below $38 billion, to around $37.50 billion, he said.

Last Thursday (September 1, 2022), the forex reserves were $39.05 billion.

Bangladesh Bank has been selling dollars from the reserves to bring ‘stability’ to the forex market. On Thursday, $76 million dollars were sold to some banks.

In total, the central bank has sold $2.57 billion from reserves in two months.

Former Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman said that despite the increase in remittance, the forex reserves fell due to a hike in demand from businesses to travellers and patients.