Forex reserves rise to $35.03b

The country’s foreign exchange reserves have increased further, reaching $35.03 billion at present. However, when calculated under the International Monetary Fund (IMF)-prescribed BPM-6 methodology, the reserves stand at approximately $30.28 billion.

The information was confirmed by Bangladesh Bank Executive Director and spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan. He said that at the close of business on Wednesday (February 25), the foreign exchange reserves stood at around $35.03 billion.

Earlier, on February 17, the reserves had risen to about $34.54 billion, which stood at approximately $29.86 billion under the IMF’s BPM-6 calculation method. At the start of the month, on February 2, reserves stood at $33.25 billion, while the IMF’s BPM-6 method put the figure at around $28.75 billion.

In mid-January, the country’s reserves were $32.32 billion on January 15, slightly down from $32.44 billion on January 8, following the payment of $1.53 billion in dues to the Asian Clearing Union (ACU).

Banking sector sources said that the largest contribution to the reserve increase has come from remittances sent by expatriate Bangladeshis. Continuing the trend seen in December, more than $3 billion in remittances were sent in January.

In the first three weeks of February, inward remittances totaled $2.308 billion, which at an exchange rate of Tk 122 per dollar amounts to approximately Tk 281.576 billion in local currency. This is $395 million (Tk 48.19 billion) higher than the same period last year, when remittances totaled $1.913 billion.

For the entire month of January, expatriate Bangladeshis sent a total of $3.17 billion in remittances.