Foreign exchange reserves fall to $27.85b after ACU payment

Following the payment of $1.53 billion in bills to the Asian Clearing Union (ACU), the country's foreign exchange reserves have once again fallen below $28 billion.

Bangladesh Bank Spokesperson and Executive Director Arif Hossain Khan informed journalists of the development on Thursday (8 January), saying that after the ACU payment, the reserves now stand at $27.85 billion.

The Asian Clearing Union was established on 9 December, 1974, under the initiative of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia. Its headquarters is located in Tehran, Iran.

Bangladesh's forex reserves cross $29b, rise $1b in 15 days

The organisation settles regional transactions among nine countries: India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Yesterday, central bank's spokesperson and Executive Director Arief Hossain Khan said Bangladesh's gross foreign exchange reserves increased by nearly $1 billion in just 15 days, reaching $29.19 billion.

Under the International Monetary Fund's BPM6 accounting method, the country's gross reserves stood at $28.04 billion on December 22, 2025. This means reserves rose by about $1 billion within a fortnight.

The central bank has been boosting reserves mainly by purchasing US dollars from commercial banks through auctions.

A senior Bangladesh Bank official said the supply of dollars in the banking system has improved due to a rise in remittance inflows.

"To prevent the exchange rate from falling amid higher dollar inflows, the central bank has been buying dollars through auctions," the official added.

Bangladesh Bank data shows that, following the latest purchases, total dollar buying during the first six months of the current 2025–26 fiscal year (from July to January 6) has reached $3.54 billion.

As a result, total dollar purchases in January 2026 alone have stood at $411 million.