The banks and foreign-currency dealers have adjusted the exchange rate of the US dollar down by Tk 0.25 for remittances, export proceeds, and import payments.
The new rates are set to be effective from Sunday next (December 3, 2023), Selim R.F. Hussain, Chairman of the Association of Bankers' Bangladesh (ABB), told the FE on Wednesday.
He said the ABB and the Bangladesh Foreign Exchange Dealers' Association (BAFEDA) revised the exchange rate of the greenback at a meeting on Tuesday last, considering the overall macroeconomic situation.
The exporters and remitters would then get Tk 109.75 per dollar, down from the existing rate of Tk 110, while importers would have to pay Tk 110.25 per dollar compared to the previous rate of Tk 110.50.
The associations, however, issued no official notification in this regard until Wednesday.
Earlier on November 22, the associations revised down the dollar rates by Tk 0.50 nearly after two years of volatility.
When contacted, the ABB chairman said the meeting reached the decision to bring down the dollar rate as the volume of imports plummeted significantly over the last one year because of the government's persisting belt-tightening measures.
"Look at the current account position, which is in the positive territory now, while the dues with the foreign correspondent banks have been cleared," he said.
At the same time, he added, the NOP (net open position) of almost all the banks improved in recent times because of the growing (dollar) cash-holding position of the banks.
"So, through the downward adjustment in exchange rate, we want to give a positive signal to the market," said the banker.
Responding to a question, Mr Hussain, top executive of BRAC Bank, said remittance is an important part of funding, but there are other key areas. "Yes, we need remittance but we don't want to offer indiscriminate rate," he added.
Seeking anonymity, the top executive of a private commercial bank expressed his surprise over the gradual appreciation of the local currency against the greenback under the current context of the forex market.
He explained that the current account turned positive now because of the import-tightening steps. "It is a single indicator, but there are other indicators that are not good at all. I don't understand the logic behind the move at a time when the economy is still going through forex dearth."
The senior banker feared that the continuous fall in exchange rate might further slow down the supply of the greenback.
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