Forex volatility persists despite Bangladesh Bank's intervention

Volatility continued to prevail in the country's foreign exchange market, with the price of every dollar hitting a record Tk 119 in the open market yesterday from Tk 115 on Monday.

Meanwhile, pressure on importers over clearing bills slightly eased amid worries among bankers following the Bangladesh Bank's action against treasury chiefs of six private banks.

The BB also injected a fresh $114 million into banks helping the market to reduce the pressure.

Treasury chiefs of six private banks were directed to be transferred to human resources departments over their alleged involvement in destabilising the market.

The central bank found that the six banks had gained hefty profits by taking advantage of the ongoing volatility.

With yesterday's supply, the BB injected a total of $1.63 billion between July 1 and August 10 this fiscal year to counter a 12 per cent depreciation of the taka in the inter-bank platform in a year.

"We will continue our support until the market turns stable," said BB Spokesperson Md Serajul Islam.

Bangladesh Bank injected a record of $7.62 billion into banks in fiscal 2021-22 to keep the market stable.

But the efforts are yet to yield results in both the interbank and kerb market as the country's overall imports last fiscal year far exceeded earnings from exports and remittances.

Meanwhile, foreign exchange reserves stood at $39.60 billion as of August 9 whereas it was $48 billion a year ago.

A number of traders, on condition of anonymity, said ordinary people now hardly purchase or buy dollars in the open market amidst surprise inspections carried out by Bangladesh Bank.

Allegations have surfaced that a section of people has hoarded dollars with hopes that the exchange rate with the dollar would go up further in the days ahead.

This has created an enormous pressure on the open market, which is why travellers are now facing difficulty in securing foreign currencies they require.

With the BB suspended licences of five money changers last week for their alleged involvement in manipulating rates, many traders are now reluctant to sell dollars.

However, importers were able to purchase dollars at a lower rate yesterday compared to that on Monday following the central bank's move against the six banks, said managing directors of two banks.

Banks yesterday sold every dollar for up to Tk 106 in contrast to Tk 112 on Monday.

They also brought remittances from foreign exchange houses offering a maximum of Tk 110 for each dollar compared to Tk 112 on Monday.

The managing directors said a majority of banks were apprehensive, cautiously opening and settling letters of credit.

The interbank exchange rate of the taka against the dollar stood at Tk 95 yesterday, up more than 12 per cent year-on-year.

Volatility continued to prevail in the country's foreign exchange market, with the price of every dollar hitting a record Tk 119 in the open market yesterday from Tk 115 on Tuesday. 

Meanwhile, pressure on importers over clearing bills slightly eased for the injection of a fresh $114 million into the market by Bangladesh Bank.

However, bankers are apprehending more punitive measures from the central bank following one last Monday.

Treasury chiefs of six private banks were directed to be transferred to human resources departments over their alleged involvement in destabilising the market.

The central bank found that the six banks had gained hefty profits by taking advantage of the ongoing volatility.

With yesterday's supply, the BB injected a total of $1.63 billion between July 1 and August 10 this fiscal year to counter a 12 per cent depreciation of the taka in the inter-bank platform in a year.

"We will continue our support until the market turns stable," said BB Spokesperson Md Serajul Islam.

Bangladesh Bank injected a record of $7.62 billion into banks in fiscal 2021-22 to keep the market stable.

But the efforts are yet to yield results in both the interbank and kerb market as the country's overall imports last fiscal year far exceeded earnings from exports and remittances.

Meanwhile, foreign exchange reserves stood at $39.60 billion as of August 9 whereas it was $48 billion a year ago.

A number of traders, on condition of anonymity, said ordinary people now hardly purchase or buy dollars in the open market amidst surprise inspections carried out by Bangladesh Bank.

Allegations have surfaced that a section of people has hoarded dollars with hopes that the exchange rate with the dollar would go up further in the days ahead.

This has created an enormous pressure on the open market, which is why travellers are now facing difficulty in securing foreign currencies they require.

With the BB suspended licences of five money changers last week for their alleged involvement in manipulating rates, many traders are now reluctant to sell dollars.

However, importers were able to purchase dollars at a lower rate yesterday compared to that on Monday following the central bank's move against the six banks, said managing directors of two banks.

Banks yesterday sold every dollar for up to Tk 106 in contrast to Tk 112 on Monday.

They also brought remittances from foreign exchange houses offering a maximum of Tk 110 for each dollar compared to Tk 112 on Monday.

The managing directors said a majority of banks were apprehensive, cautiously opening and settling letters of credit.

The interbank exchange rate of the taka against the dollar stood at Tk 95 yesterday, up more than 12 per cent year-on-year.