Amidst gradual fall in the country's foreign exchange reserves, banks today hiked dollar purchase rate to Tk 109.5 as part of an effort to come to a unified rate for forex.

Banks will sell the greenback at Tk 110 to the importers, according to a meeting between the Bangladesh Foreign Exchange Dealers Association (Bafeda) and the Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB).

The new rate will be effective from the next working day.

Until today, banks officially offered remitters Tk 109 for every dollar and Tk 108.5 for each dollar to the exporters as per the previous decision of Bafeda and ABB.

Until August 30, Bangladesh's gross international reserves stood at $23.06 billion as per the definition of the International Monetary Fund's balance of payments and investment position manual.

Banks sold the greenback to the importers to settle import payments at Tk 109.5 each.

As per the latest decision, the interbank exchange rate will be Tk 110 for every dollar.

In its monetary policy for July-December period of 2023, the Bangladesh Bank said it is committed to implementing a unified and market-driven single exchange rate considering prevailing market conditions.

Introducing a single exchange rate system for exports, imports, and remittances will be an automatic stabiliser against any external imbalances, as per the monetary policy statement.