Kerb market dollar exchange rate crosses Tk 79

Siddique Islam The exchange rate of US dollar in the open market, known as the kerb market, crossed Tk 79.00 Wednesday, ahead of the upcoming holy Hajj. The US currency reached its maximum rate at Tk 79.20 on the day as the demand for the greenback increased substantially to meet the growing requirement of the pilgrims, currency traders said. "The flow of cash dollar to the open market is being affected due to supply-side constraints," a currency trader told the FE. Besides, the tough anti-money laundering act has been discouraging the expatriate Bangladeshis from sending their hard-earned money through the illegal 'hundi' channel, he added. The exchange rate of the greenback shot up to Tk 79.20 Wednesday against Tk 78.00 on August 28 last, according to the traders. The US dollar sold in the kerb market on the day at a level higher by nearly Tk 4.0 than that offered by the state-owned banks. In the formal market, four state-owned commercial banks were selling the greenback at Tk 75.45 and buying it at Tk 74.45 Wednesday, a treasury official of a commercial bank said. He also said most private and foreign commercial banks offered higher rates for the greenback than those of the state-owned banks. The US currency was quoted at Tk 76.15 at the maximum by a foreign commercial bank (FCB) Wednesday for bills for collection (BC) selling for opening letters of credit (LCs) against imports. It was quoted at Tk 74.95 two weeks back, market operators said. "The overall imports will be costlier as the exchange of US dollar increased at the customer level. But exporters as well as remitters will also get benefit," a senior treasury official of a FCB said. Another treasury official of a leading private bank said the demand for the greenback has increased slightly due mainly to settling of import payments for petroleum products and scrap vessels. "The exchange rate of US dollar may go up further today (Thursday) if the central bank does not provide foreign currency support to the commercial banks, particularly the state-controlled commercial banks (SCBs)," he added. The US dollar was quoted at Tk 75.22-Tk 75.24 Wednesday in the inter-bank foreign exchange market. It was at Tk 75.00-Tk 75.02 on September 21 last, according to the central bank statistics. "We're informed about the higher rates of the greenback in the kerb market," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) said, adding that the central bank is closely watching the overall market situation.