BB\\\'s intervention in forex market continues

The central bank purchased over US$1.0 billion from the commercial banks directly in the first 72 days of the current fiscal year to prop up the greenback and keep the currency market stable.
Financial experts say such balancing intervention in the inter-bank foreign-exchange market is being done to protect interests of exporters and migrant workers -- as a falling dollar would erode their gains from the forex they earn.   
"We're purchasing the greenback from the banks continuously to protect the interests of exporters and migrant workers by keeping the exchange rate of the Bangladesh Taka (BDT) against the US dollar stable," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE.
As part of the move, the BB bought 20 million dollars from a commercial bank Thursday at market rate.
The US dollar was quoted at Tk 77.40 on the inter-bank forex market on the day, unchanged from the previous level, market operators said.
Last Wednesday, the central bank similarly purchased $45 million from two private commercial banks on the same ground.
A total of $1.045 billion was bought from the commercial banks between July 2 and September 11 of the FY 15 as part of BB's market intervention.
The country's forex reserve climbed to $21.48 billion Thursday, from $21.45 billion of the previous day, following the purchase of last chunks of the greenback, according to the BB official.
 "We may continue to purchase the US currency from the banks in the near future too on the basis of market requirement," another BB official said. He wouldn't elaborate on the reasons.
The central bank purchased a record amount of $5.15 billion from the commercial banks in the FY 14. The amount stood out to be the highest in the last 10 years, followed by $4.54 billion in FY 13, the BB data showed.