Forex reserves stay above $26b after $1.61b ACU payment
Reserves were $27.37 billion on 27 October
Bangladesh's gross foreign exchange reserves remain above $26 billion even after the country paid $1.61 billion in import bills through the Asian Clearing Union (ACU).
Data from Bangladesh Bank shows the central bank's gross reserve stood at $26.44 billion as of this evening (9 November).
Reserves were $27.37 billion on 27 October.
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According to Bangladesh Bank records, Bangladesh last paid an ACU import bill of $1.96 billion in July 2022 for the May-June period. Since then, ACU payments had trended downward, staying below $1.3 billion per bi-monthly cycle throughout 2023.
Payments began to rise again from the September-October period of 2023, peaking at around $2 billion in May-June this year — the highest in the last three years.
The ACU, headquartered in Iran's Tehran, facilitates regional transactions among nine countries - India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Established on 9 December 1974, under the initiative of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia, the ACU helps member countries settle trade payments efficiently.
