Staff Correspondent
Bangladesh’s gross foreign exchange reserve has crossed $34 billion after more three years amid increased remittance and dollar buying by the central bank.
According to Bangladesh Bank, foreign exchange reserve reached $34.06 billion on February 9.
The figure marked highest after October, 2022 when it was at $35.8 billion.
Foreign exchange reserves, calculated under IMF guidelines, stood at $29.47 billion on February 9.
The central bank has so far bought $4,728 million in the 2025-26 financial year as of February 9.
The dollar buying began on July 13, 2025 with an initial purchase of $202 million and continued in several rounds through early January 2026.
BB officials said that intervention became necessary as the dollar began to weaken due to excess supply in the interbank market.
Since the Bangladesh Bank started buying dollars, the exchange rate has remained largely steady at around Tk 123 a dollar. Before the intervention, the rate had dropped to Tk 119.5 on July 12.
Since March 2025, the pace of taka depreciation has slowed, supported by strong remittance and export receipts.
Against this backdrop, the central bank shifted its focus to rebuilding reserves through sustained dollar purchases.
Meanwhile, remittance inflow and export earnings soared in current months.
Remittance inflows surged by 21.8 per cent to $19.43 billion in the July-January period of FY26.
Bangladesh Bank data showed that during seven months of FY26, remittances increased to the level from that of $15.96 billion in the corresponding period of the previous financial year.
Monthly inflows have remained above $2 billion since August 2024, supported by improved official exchange rates and government incentives.
The BB follows the IMF’s Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, 6th edition (BPM6), for calculating gross and net international reserves.
The interbank exchange rate stabilized at Tk 122 a dollar as BB continued purchasing dollars from the banking sector to halt sharp fall of the green-back rate.
The exchange rate was Tk 86 a dollar in January 2022 and Tk 94.7 in July 2022.
Source: https://www.newagebd.net/post/economy/290725/forex-reserve-crosses-34b-after-3-years
