Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves slipped below $33 billion after the central bank cleared international import bills.
The Bangladesh Bank paid $1.12 billion to clear payments for its imports from the member countries of the Asian Clearing Union (ACU), an arrangement to settle payments for intra-regional transactions among member countries, including Bangladesh.
Following the payment, forex reserves stand at $32.52 billion, said a senior official of the central bank yesterday.
The reserves have been falling steadily since the Russia-Ukraine war erupted as it sent the prices of commodities higher. As a result, Bangladesh has to pay more to buy essentials from external sources but export earnings and remittance receipts have not gone up proportionately.
Thus, the reserves declined from $44.95 billion in early January of 2021 to $32.52 billion.
India, Bhutan, Iran, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are the other members of the Tehran-headquartered ACU. The members clear the payments every two months.
