BB sells $83m to banks to settle import bills
Friday, 13 May 2011
FE Report
The central bank sold greenbacks worth US$83 million to three state-owned commercial banks (SCBs) Thursday for settlement of their import bills for petroleum products, officials said. "We've sold the US currency at market rate to three SCBs on the day directly to meet the growing demand for the greenback," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE. The US dollar was quoted at Tk 73.13-Tk 73.23 in the inter-bank foreign exchange market Thursday, up a notch from Tk 73.12 -Tk 73.18 in the previous day, market operators said. The official said the central bank has stepped up foreign currency support to the banks to settle outstanding letters of credit (LCs) against imports of food grains, fuels and power plant equipment. On Monday, the central bank also sold $7.0 million to a state-owned commercial bank on the same ground. "Our foreign currency support to commercial banks will continue in line with the market requirement," the BB official said, adding that the central bank is monitoring the market situation closely. With import cost soaring at a record high in the current fiscal year, the central bank has so far sold $968 million directly to the commercial banks to meet higher demand for greenback to pay for imports, the BB data showed. "The demand for US dollar spiked due to higher import payment bills particularly for essential items such as petroleum products, food and capital machinery for rental power plants," a senior private banker said. He said high dividend payment for multinational companies has also added to the pressure on foreign currency. The fresh flow of fund has also kept the inter-bank call money rate unchanged in the range between 5.0 per cent and 6.75 cent on Thursday.
The central bank sold greenbacks worth US$83 million to three state-owned commercial banks (SCBs) Thursday for settlement of their import bills for petroleum products, officials said. "We've sold the US currency at market rate to three SCBs on the day directly to meet the growing demand for the greenback," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE. The US dollar was quoted at Tk 73.13-Tk 73.23 in the inter-bank foreign exchange market Thursday, up a notch from Tk 73.12 -Tk 73.18 in the previous day, market operators said. The official said the central bank has stepped up foreign currency support to the banks to settle outstanding letters of credit (LCs) against imports of food grains, fuels and power plant equipment. On Monday, the central bank also sold $7.0 million to a state-owned commercial bank on the same ground. "Our foreign currency support to commercial banks will continue in line with the market requirement," the BB official said, adding that the central bank is monitoring the market situation closely. With import cost soaring at a record high in the current fiscal year, the central bank has so far sold $968 million directly to the commercial banks to meet higher demand for greenback to pay for imports, the BB data showed. "The demand for US dollar spiked due to higher import payment bills particularly for essential items such as petroleum products, food and capital machinery for rental power plants," a senior private banker said. He said high dividend payment for multinational companies has also added to the pressure on foreign currency. The fresh flow of fund has also kept the inter-bank call money rate unchanged in the range between 5.0 per cent and 6.75 cent on Thursday.