For the first time since August 2021, banks and foreign currency dealers have increased the value of the Bangladesh Taka against the US Dollar in response to the rapid devaluation of the local currency.
In an emergency meeting with the Bangladesh Bank on Wednesday, the Bangladesh Foreign Exchange Dealers Association and the Association of Bankers, Bangladesh lowered dollar prices by Tk 0.5 to Tk 110, according to a bdnews24.com report.
Since September of last year, BAFEDA and ABB have been establishing dollar prices to stabilize the exchange rate. Since assuming responsibility, these two associations have consistently increased dollar prices.
Starting Thursday, the updated rate will come into effect. When purchasing at the revised price, banks are obligated to vend dollars at a maximum rate of Tk 110.5. Since October 30, the dollar’s purchase price has remained at 110.5, with the highest selling price being Tk 111, excluding remittances.
“The country’s current account balance and financial account were in the red last December. The current account balance is showing a surplus of $1 billion. And the trade deficit and financial account deficit are going down gradually. So the value of the taka has been raised against the dollar,” said Md Afzal Karim, president of BAFEDA and managing director of Sonali Bank.
Meanwhile, banks can still offer their own 2.5 per cent incentive along with the government’s 2.5 per cent for remittances. The incentives can bring down the dollar price by Tk 0.5 to Tk 115.5.
In an effort to curb the illegal channels of remittances, which are also used to launder dirty money, the Bangladesh Bank in August 2022 stipulated that the difference between cash dollar price in banks and the open market will be a maximum of Tk 1.5.
The central bank also carried out drives to penalise money exchange services not abiding by the rules.
The price of the dollar in the open market has to be lowered by Tk 0.5 according to the latest decision.
