Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserves crossed $21 billion yesterday after almost 10 months thanks to an increased inflow of foreign currency generated by remittances and export earnings.

According to the International Monetary Fund's calculation method, the forex reserves stood at $21.11 billion on Sunday, up from $20.89 billion a day earlier, as per the central bank's latest data.

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Forex market steadies as dollar inflows go up

Previously, forex reserves had hit the $21 billion mark in July last year.

However, gross forex reserves (according to the central bank's calculation) increased to $26.38 billion, up from Thursday's $26.14 billion.

The rising trend in remittances and export earnings has fuelled the forex reserves, Arief Hossain Khan, executive director and spokesperson of the central bank, told The Daily Star.

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Remittance up as rates stabilise

He added that steps taken by the interim government to tackle money laundering have given a boost to the reserves.

Remittance inflow hit $3.29 billion in March, the highest in any single month in the history of Bangladesh.