In an effort to maintain a stable exchange rate between the US dollar and the taka, the central bank bought an additional US$60 million from four banks on Sunday in an interbank spot market auction.

According to central bank authorities, the money was purchased using the multiple price auction procedure, with a cut-off rate of Tk 122.30 per dollar.

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has purchased $2.93 billion directly from banks since July 13 of last year under the current free-floating exchange rate regime, according to the central bank’s most recent data.

A senior BB official told The Financial Express that the central bank’s dollar purchases from scheduled banks are meant to stabilize the exchange rate, which helps sustain export competitiveness and assist the

The official stated that selling US dollars to the central bank has eased the liquidity position of various banks, including some problematic firms. The intervention, he continued, is also helping to gradually increase the nation’s foreign exchange reserves.

According to the central bank’s conventional computation, Bangladesh’s gross foreign exchange reserves increased to $32.57 billion on December 18 from $32.48 billion the previous day.

The International Monetary Fund’s Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, sixth edition (BPM6) states that during the same period, reserves rose from $27.82 billion to $27.87 billion, according to data from Bangladesh Bank.