Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserves fell below the $19 billion-mark for the first time in 11 months.

It hit $18.26 billion today after the central bank settled $1.63 billion worth of import bills of two months through the Asian Clearing Union (ACU), an arrangement for settling transactions, Bangladesh Bank Spokesperson Md Mezbaul Haque told The Daily Star.

The country's gross foreign exchange reserves were at $19.82 billion on May 8, as per the calculation method of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Bangladesh Bank began calculating forex reserves according to the method of the IMF in July 2023.

On July 13 last year, foreign exchange reserves were $23.56 billion.

However, Bangladesh Bank says, according to its calculation, the forex reserves now stands at $23.71 billion after the ACU payment, down from $25.27 billion on May 8.