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The upward trend in the flow of inward remittance continues as Bangladesh saw a 4.46-per cent increase in its receipt year on year (YoY) in February.
Expatriate Bangladeshis sent home their hard-earned foreign currencies amounting to $1.56 billion in the just-passed month, showed the latest central bank data.
The volume of remittance received here in February 2022 was $1.49 billion.
Although the monthly growth in inward remittance is not so high, it gives some respite to the forex market that has been under immense stress in recent months.
The volume of remittance reached $14.01 billion in the first eight months of this fiscal year (FY2023).
The amount was $13.43 billion recorded in the corresponding period last fiscal.
Talking to the FE, Bangladesh Bank spokesperson Md Mezbaul Hoque said both the central bank and commercial banks have taken multiple measures to strengthen inflows in recent times.
"And these [measures] are delivering," he added.
Remittance in February, however, declined 20.3 per cent from January when the expatriates sent $1.95 billion back home, according to the central bank data.
The month of January contains 31 days, whereas February has 28 days, so it is logical for a lower amount of remittance last month, according to Mr Hoque.
"We expect the inflow to mount in the next months as two Eid festivals are coming this fiscal when Bangladeshi nationals working abroad normally send more remittance," he cited.
Seeking anonymity, another official said inflows initially decreased in the first few months of FY23 as remittance receivers got better returns from hundi, an illegal cross-border financial transaction system.
But the local currency, taka, has faced a depreciation in recent times, encouraging Bangladeshi expatriates to send their income through the formal banking channel.
On the other hand, the dearth of dollar supply has made the greenback costlier.
As a spillover effect, import costs keep mounting and have ultimately led to inflationary pressure, making a strong bite on the earnings of common people.
The country's foreign-currency reserves stood at $32.44 billion until 22 February 2023.