Bangladesh Bank has sold over $12 billion of US dollars in the current fiscal year, which started on July 1, 2022. This is in contrast to $7.62 billion in the previous financial year of 2021-22. The central bank has had to sell dollars to clear import bills, with imports remaining high despite various measures to contain demand for non-essential and luxury items. Although import payments decreased by 12.33% year-on-year to $53.94 billion between July and March of FY23, the high level of imports has taken a toll on foreign currency reserves as export and remittance earnings have not increased to the expected level. The reserves stood at $30.34 billion on May 10, 2023, down 28% from $42.20 billion in May 2022. To stop the erosion of reserves, experts have suggested that the central bank should reduce the sales of US dollars.
Bangladesh Bank sells record $12 billion of US dollars
- Published On May 14, 2023
- 12:44 pm
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Economic Tag: Central Bank
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