Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves have declined following payment to the Asian Clearing Union (ACU). On Thursday, the central bank paid $1.53 billion from reserves to settle ACU bills for November and December, reducing the total reserves to $32.43 billion. Under the International Monetary Fund’s BPM-6 calculation method, reserves now stand at $27.84 billion. The information was confirmed by Arif Hossain Khan, executive director and spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank.

According to Bangladesh Bank data, total reserves were $33.78 billion on January 7, while the BPM-6 adjusted figure was $29.18 billion. The ACU is a regional settlement system among nine Asian central banks, including Bangladesh, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bhutan, and the Maldives. Through this mechanism, import and export payments among member countries are settled every two months.

The latest payment marks a continued decline in reserves, reflecting the country’s periodic obligations under the ACU settlement system.