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Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves have further increased, with gross reserves surpassing the $37 billion milestone after approximately 45 months. By the end of Monday, the reserves stood at $37.05 billion.
According to the latest data from Bangladesh Bank, the country’s foreign exchange reserves, calculated using the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) BPM-6 method, currently stand at $32.48 billion. This figure was $31.55 billion last Wednesday.
Data from the central bank indicates that the country’s gross reserves fell below $37 billion in mid-September 2022. Subsequently, they continued to decline, reaching $25.92 billion in August 2024.
Previously, on June 14, following the addition of $1 billion in loan assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), reserves calculated under BPM-6 surpassed the $31 billion mark.
As per the conditions of the IMF loan program, Bangladesh Bank has been publishing reserve figures using the BPM-6 method since June 2023. At that time, the country’s reserves under this method stood at $24.75 billion.
Historically, Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves reached an all-time high of $48 billion in August 2021. However, due to various factors including increased money laundering, rising import costs, and pressure on the foreign exchange market, reserves quickly began to decline. Concurrently, the dollar exchange rate surged from BDT 84 to approximately BDT 120. In August 2024, reserves calculated under BPM-6 fell to $20.48 billion.
However, since August of last year, the flow of expatriate earnings through banking channels has increased significantly. From the beginning of the current fiscal year until June 28, the country has received $35.34 billion in remittances.
Compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year, remittance inflow has increased by $5.30 billion or 17.62%. In the fiscal year prior to that, remittances had also grown by almost 27%. This strong flow of remittances is playing a crucial role in restoring stability to the foreign exchange market and boosting reserves.