The flow of overall inward remittance jumped by more than 11 per cent in May over that of the previous month ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr festival, officials said.
The remittance inflow was estimated at $1.48 billion in May 2018, up by $151.52 million from that of the previous month.
In April, the amount stood at $1.33 billion. It was $1.27 billion in May 2017.
"The flow of inward remittance increased significantly in the month of May ahead of the Eid festival," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE on Sunday.
He also said the upward trend of inward remittance flow may continue until the end of this month.
The Non-Resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) normally send hefty amounts of remittance to their near and dear ones in the country ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr, the central banker explained.
It happens so, as the Eid-ul-Fitr is one of the biggest religious festivals of the Muslims, which will be celebrated in the third week of this month.
On the other hand, the inflow of overall remittance grew by more than 17 per cent or $2.02 billion to $13.57 billion during the July-May period of the current fiscal year (FY), 2017-18.
The amount was $11.55 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal, according to the central bank's statistics, released on Sunday.
Currently, 29 exchange houses are operating across the globe with 1,202 drawing arrangements set up abroad to boost the remittance inflow, according to another BB official.
The central banker also said the upward trend in fuel oil prices in the global market has contributed to raise the inflow of remittance, particularly from the Middle-East countries.
The average crude oil price stood at $68.8 per barrel in April 2018. It was $63.5 per barrel in February, according to the World Bank's latest Commodity Markets Outlook, released on May 02.
Syed Mahbubur Rahman, chairman of the Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB), told the FE, "The depreciating mode of the local currency against the US dollar has helped to increase the flow of inward remittance in the recent months."
"Besides, the strengthened surveillance of the BB to check 'hundi', the illegal channel used to move funds cross-border, has also contributed to raise the remittance inflow," he added.
The exchange rate of Bangladesh Taka (BDT) depreciated significantly against the US dollar in recent months mainly due to higher demand for the greenback for settling import bills.
The local currency depreciated by Tk3.10 to Tk83.70 on Sunday in the inter-bank foreign exchange market from Tk80.60 on July 02, 2017, the first working day of the ongoing FY.
All the private commercial banks (PCBs) received nearly $1.10 billion as remittance in May 2018.
Besides, the state-owned commercial banks (SoCBs) received $359.60 million, the foreign commercial banks (FCBs) received $13.41 million, and the specialised banks received $12.27 million last month.
The BB earlier took a series of measures to encourage the expatriate Bangladeshis to send their hard-earned money through the formal banking channel to help boost the country's foreign exchange reserve.
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