Interbank dollar rate rises to Tk92.95
The Bangladesh Bank has again raised the interbank dollar rate to Tk92.95 for a dollar, which was Tk92.9 on Monday.
Bangladesh Bank Spokesman and Executive Director Md Sirajul Islam told The Business Standard (TBS) the rate was determined based on market demand and supply.
The central bank sold $114 million to commercial banks at the new rate on Tuesday. The central bank did not sell any dollars on Sunday and Monday.
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In the current fiscal year, the central bank had to sell more than $7 billion to meet the growing demand for dollars so far.
The country's foreign exchange reserves have fallen below $42 billion as a result of continued dollar sales. Last year in August, reserves were at a maximum of $48 billion.
According to the central bank, the dollar has appreciated 10 times in the last two months. In the first week of January this year, the dollar traded at Tk85.4. As such, the dollar exchange rate has risen Tk7.15 or 7.33% in the first six months of this year.
Meanwhile, although the banks officially say they are doing LC settlement at Tk93, in reality they are doing it at Tk96-97. It is learned they have given a Tk93 rate to remitters.
The head of the treasury department of a private bank told TBS that to collect dollars from exchange houses, they have to pay at least Tk95 for a dollar. If we settle at a lower rate than this, we incur losses. However, the official claimed his bank settled LCs at Tk93 to the dollar as per instructions of the central bank.
