Forex reserves fall after $1.27b ACU payment

Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserves fell to $20.38 billion yesterday after the central bank settled import bills of two months through the Asian Clearing Union (ACU), a top official said today.

Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country's central bank, cleared $1.27 billion in import bills through the ACU, an arrangement for payment settlement for transactions among eight countries, including India, one of the largest trading partners of Bangladesh.

Following the payment, the country's gross foreign exchange reserves declined to $25.65 billion yesterday as per the calculation of the BB, from $26.9 billion on January 3, said the central bank official.

The amount of forex reserves was $21.7 billion on January 3 as per the calculation method of the International Monetary Fund.