Bangladesh Bank has purchased an additional $218.5 million from 16 commercial banks, bringing its total dollar purchases to $4.15 billion since the start of the current fiscal year, according to Executive Director and Spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan. The central bank’s move aims to maintain stability in the foreign exchange market, where dollar supply currently exceeds demand.

The report notes that Bangladesh’s dollar market became unstable in 2022, with the exchange rate rising from 85 to 122 taka per dollar. Over the past three fiscal years, the central bank sold about $34 billion to support the market but bought only around $1 billion during that period. Following the fall of the previous Awami League government, the current administration tightened measures against money laundering, boosting both exports and remittances and increasing dollar inflows.

As a result of higher remittances and central bank purchases, Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves rose to $33.18 billion as of January 29, or $28.68 billion under the BPM-6 calculation, up from $20.48 billion at the time of the previous government’s departure.