It will be supported by the recent improvement of the current account balance to modest surpluses partly reflecting ongoing import restrictions, narrowing financial account deficits as business uncertainties gradually ease following the conclusion of the general elections in January, it said.
Foreign currencies held by commercial banks in Bangladesh are on the decline due to high demand, indicating growing pressure on the country’s external sector.
In its effort to arrest the fall in forex reserves and bring unrealised export proceeds into the country, the Bangladesh Bank today allowed bankers to offer the existing US dollar exchange rate to exporters.
The economist says at Sanem event
Bangladesh’s foreign currency reserves stood at $23.56 billion today as per the definition of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the central bank said today.
Like in the outgoing financial year, the common people in Bangladesh will continue to suffer from higher consumer prices in 2023-24 as the factors behind the elevated level of inflation are unlikely to change dramatically.
No significant economic growth is possible in Bangladesh without a satisfactory level of foreign exchange reserves, said Syed Ershad Ahmed, president the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham), yesterday.
A wide gap in formal and informal exchange rate has been one of the factors behind the sharp fall in the foreign exchange reserves in Bangladesh as it shifts remittances from official channels to unofficial routes and impedes repatriation of export proceeds, said the World Bank.
The government is expecting the shrinking foreign currency reserves will buck the trend and hit $37.7 billion by June thanks to lower imports and budget support from development partners.
Bangladesh will continue to see high deficit in its current account balance till 2027, predicts the International Monetary Fund.
Bangladesh is hoping to get $5.5 billion from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank as budget support, which will help the country shore up its depleting foreign currency reserves.
The burgeoning forex reserve, now hovering around $40 billion, is turning a lot of heads, alarmingly though, as big borrowers shift their eyes from exhausted public banks to the secured coffers.
The country's foreign currency reserves hit $24 billion today, setting a new record.
