Bangladesh Bank buys $145 million from banks in May to bolster reserves
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Bangladesh Bank has purchased dollars from commercial banks for two consecutive days in the second week of May.
The central bank bought $20 million from a commercial bank on Tuesday at a rate of Tk 122.75 per dollar, according to officials.
A day earlier, the regulator purchased $45 million from another bank at the same rate.
Arief Hossain Khan, executive director and spokesperson for the central bank, told bdnews24.com: “So far this month, up to $145 million has been purchased from the market.”
The central bank’s cut-off rate for dollar purchases throughout May has remained Tk 122.75 per dollar.
According to Bangladesh Bank data, the regulator has bought a total of $5.82 billion from the market so far in the current fiscal year.
Following the trend of previous months, inward remittance has continued to maintain positive momentum in May.
In the first 11 days of the month, expatriates sent $1.44 billion in remittances, which is 56.4 percent higher than the same period last year.
During the corresponding period in 2025, remittance inflow stood at $922 million, the central bank said.
The increased remittance inflow has boosted foreign currency holdings at commercial banks, with many banks exceeding their foreign exchange retention limits.
At the same time, dollar demand has remained subdued due to lower import pressure.
In such a situation, Bangladesh Bank has been absorbing dollars from the market to provide local currency liquidity against remittances and maintain exchange rate stability.
The move is helping the central bank stabilise the dollar market while also increasing foreign exchange reserves.
On May 7, Bangladesh paid $1.51 billion in liabilities to the Asian Clearing Union (ACU).
Following the payment, Bangladesh Bank resumed dollar purchases on Monday after reserves declined.
The central bank again bought dollars on Tuesday to further strengthen reserves.
After Monday’s purchase, foreign exchange reserves stood at $29.56 billion under the BPM6 calculation method and $34.22 billion in gross terms, according to Bangladesh Bank data.