Expatriate Bangladeshis continue to send hard-earned money home despite being miles away from family during Eid-ul-Fitr, boosting the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
According to the central bank, as of March 27, the gross forex reserve reached $25.44 billion, while the BPM-6 method of the IMF shows a reserve of $20.30 billion. However, the usable reserve remains at $15 billion.
After clearing the ACU bill on March 9, the gross reserve dipped to $25 billion. The recent surge in remittances and positive export earnings during Ramadan have pushed the reserves up again.
Usable reserves are calculated by excluding short-term liabilities and other obligations. Though the central bank does not publicly disclose this figure, sources indicate the current usable reserve is $15 billion, enough to cover three months of imports.
Liberty News’ economic correspondent states that under the previous government, usable reserves dipped below $14 billion, with forex loans and bank purchases helping to stabilize the figure. Since August, the interim government has halted reserve-based dollar sales, focusing instead on sourcing forex to maintain stability.
LND/BG
