Banks buy dollars at Tk103
A number of banks on Thursday bought dollars from exchange houses for a rate of Tk103 as they were burdened with the pressure of import letters of credit (LCs).
Because of the pressure and the ongoing shortages of dollar, exchange firms got the chance to bargain for the most.
However, some banks paid Tk 102 to collect remittances from the exchange houses. On Wednesday, the price of Tk101.
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Export proceeds were encashed at a price of Tk101 per dollar, which is two taka more per dollar than on Wednesday.
Officials of the treasury department of several banks told The Business Standard that the central bank has taken a number of initiatives to meet the dollar crisis in the market.
Central bank hikes dollar price by 50 paisa
The central bank has increased the interbank exchange rate of US dollar by 50 paisa to Tk94.45. On Thursday, $70 million was sold to banks at the new price.
The central bank has so far sold more than $700 million to banks in the new fiscal year. The central bank is providing this support mainly to help open import LCs for fuel, electricity, food products, government purchases and daily necessities.
However, Bangladesh Bank is not supplying enough to meet the total demand. As a result, the remaining dollars for the import of these products are collected from the market. Industry insiders believe this to be one of the reasons for the increase in dollar prices.
The interbank exchange rate on 21 July last year was Tk84.80. Taka has depreciated by Tk9.65 or 11.38% against the dollar in the one-year period.
Bangladesh Bank releases four suspended LCs
Recently, the commercial banks have been asked to inform the central bank about imports worth more than $5 million 24 hours before opening the LC.
The Bangladesh Bank has cleared four of the five import LCs worth nearly $45 million previously blocked.
A senior official of the central bank said that the loans were suspended after receiving information about irregularities. However, four were allowed later after receiving necessary paperwork.
Dollar price 102.50 in kerb market
Customers had to spend Tk102.50 to purchase dollars from the kerb market on Thursday. Besides, the money changers collected dollars at Tk102. Dollars were traded at this price last Wednesday and Tuesday in the kerb market.
