Forex reserves stay above $36.5b after ACU payment

FE REPORT | Published: July 07, 2026 22:54:10

Foreign exchange reserves remained above the US$36.5 billion mark after the country settled $1.48 billion in import payments to Asian Clearing Union (ACU) member countries.
Robust remittance inflows, lower import demand and Bangladesh Bank's dollar purchases from commercial banks helped keep the reserves at a comfortable level, Bangladesh Bank officials said.
Following the payment for the May-June 2026 settlement period, the gross forex reserves fell to $36.52 billion on Tuesday from $37.85 billion on the previous working day.
Under the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, sixth edition (BPM6), the reserves declined to $31.87 billion from $33.20 billion over the same period, according to the latest Bangladesh Bank (BB) data.
"Our forex reserves remain at a satisfactory level even after making the routine payment to the ACU," a senior Bangladesh Bank official told The Financial Express.
He said the existing reserves were sufficient to cover more than six months of the country's import payment obligations.
"Higher remittance inflows and lower import payment obligations have contributed to the improvement in the country's forex reserve position," the central banker said.
He added that government borrowing from overseas sources had also helped strengthen the country's foreign exchange reserves.
The recent increase in reserves has also been supported by Bangladesh Bank's purchases of US dollars from commercial banks, according to the official.
Bangladesh Bank has purchased a total of $6.42 billion from commercial banks since July 13 last year under the prevailing market-based floating exchange rate regime, BB data showed.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh's payment to the ACU declined to $1.48 billion for the latest settlement period from $1.51 billion previously, mainly because of lower imports from ACU member countries, particularly India.
Under the existing ACU arrangement, member countries settle outstanding import bills and related interest every two months.
According to Bangladesh Bank officials, the country imports a wide range of consumer goods, cotton, industrial raw materials and capital machinery from ACU member countries, especially neighbouring India.
The ACU is a regional payment arrangement comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, through which participating central banks settle eligible cross-border trade transactions on a multilateral basis.
siddique.islam@gmail.com