The Bangladesh Taka (BDT) depreciated significantly against the US dollar on Thursday - mainly due to higher demand for the greenback for settling import-payment obligations.
The local currency lost its value by 50 paisa in the inter-bank foreign-exchange (forex) market on the day, according to market operators.
The US currency was quoted at Tk 92.00 each on the day against Tk 91.50 on the previous working day. It was Tk 89.90 on June 02.
On Wednesday, the BDT gained its value by 50 paisa against the US currency after maintaining a falling trend in the four consecutive working days.
Most banks quoted US$ at maximum Tk 93.00 for the sale of bills for collection, generally known as BC, for settling import payments on Wednesday, unchanged from the previous level, the market operators noted.
They, however, said a few banks are still quoting higher rates for both BC selling and overseas exchange houses, bypassing their announced rates.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Bank (BB) continues providing its foreign currency support to the scheduled banks in a bigger way for managing forex market volatility.
It sold $94 million directly to six banks on Thursday to help them meet the growing demand for the greenback.
On Wednesday, the central bank sold $124 million directly to nine banks on the same ground.
The BB has so far injected $6.69 billion from the reserve directly into commercial banks - as liquidity support for settling their import payment obligations in the current fiscal year (FY), 2021-22.
Bangladesh's forex reserve came down to $41.70 billion on Thursday from $41.75 billion of the previous day - following higher sales of the greenback from the reserve.
The local currency is maintaining a depreciating trend - mainly due to higher outflow of foreign exchange - following a hefty growth in import payments compared to the inflow in the last few months.
The mismatch has resulted in widening current account deficit in a macro-economic imbalance that prompts the government to adopt some thrift measures and put baits on offer for netting foreign exchange to secure the depleting reserve.
