Amid an ongoing dollar crisis, the interbank exchange rate in Bangladesh has surged to Taka 109.5 per dollar, causing a significant depreciation of the Taka by approximately 30 per cent over the past two years.
Media reports claimed this while adding the current exchange rate has risen from Taka 94.7 in July 2022 to Taka 84.8 in July 2021 even if this sharp decline in the dollar rate has had far-reaching effects on various sectors of the economy, with businesses struggling with higher import costs and difficulties in obtaining foreign currency.
The depreciation of the Taka also has repercussions on Bangladesh’s foreign debt, which is denominated in US dollars even if, as the Taka loses value, a greater amount of it is required to repay the same amount of foreign debt, thereby placing additional financial strain on both the Government and businesses.
Meanwhile, in an effort to stabili\se the foreign exchange market, the Bangladesh Bank, which is the central bank of the country has taken measures to sell approximately US $ 22 billion in the last 25 months, which reportedly includes selling US $ 13.5 billion to banks in the financial year 2022-23 and US $ 7.62 billion in FY ’22.
Moreover, in the first month of FY ’24, the central bank reportedly sold an additional US $ 1.14 billion, underscoring the high demand for dollars and the limited supply in the market.
