Dhaka: Bangladesh’s foreign exchange gross reserves have surged to $35.03 billion within just nine days of the new government assuming office.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the foreign exchange reserves, calculated using the IMF BPM-6 method which states “what cannot be spent, cannot be counted,” stand at $30.27 billion. Arif Hossain Khan, the Executive Director and spokesperson for the central bank, confirmed this development via a text message on Wednesday night.
Central bank officials highlighted a noticeable trend where expatriate Bangladeshis are increasingly opting for legal channels to send money back home. This shift has significantly bolstered the nation’s dollar reserves. The surplus of dollars in the banking system had initially raised concerns about a potential sharp decline in the value of the US dollar. To address this and maintain market stability, Bangladesh Bank has been actively purchasing dollars from commercial banks.
In the current fiscal year, FY2025-26, the central bank has acquired approximately $4.90 billion from the market. This move is a significant turnaround from the previous years (2021-2024), during which the bank had to sell nearly $34 billion in an effort to stabilize an erratic market.