B Mirror Report :Bangladesh received USD 3 billion in remittances in the first 29 days of this month, which has lessened the scarcity of dollars. In the meantime, the nation’s total foreign exchange reserves have surpassed USD 33 billion (USD 33.0 billion), the highest level in the previous three years, as a result of the Bangladesh Bank’s acquisition of dollars from commercial banks.
Previously, reserves crossed USD 33 billion for the first time in 2017 and later reached USD 48 billion in 2021. At the time of the fall of the Awami League government, reserves had declined to USD 26 billion.
During the first 29 days of the current month, remittance inflows exceeded USD 3 billion. A total of USD 3.04 billion entered the country in these 29 days.
Since the fall of the Awami League government in August last year, a positive trend in remittance inflows has continued. As a result, remittances hit a record high in March, when USD 3.29 billion was received—the highest remittance inflow ever recorded in a single month. Following that, remittances have again exceeded USD 3 billion in the current month.
According to Bangladesh Bank data, total remittances amounted to USD 30.33 billion in the 2024–25 fiscal year, compared to USD 23.91 billion in the 2023–24 fiscal year.
Due to the rise in remittance inflows, Bangladesh Bank has been purchasing dollars from commercial banks, alongside receiving foreign loans, which has contributed to the growth of reserves. As of yesterday, Tuesday, reserves rose to USD 33.18 billion. However, under the International Monetary Fund’s BPM-6 accounting method, reserves stood at USD 28.51 billion.
Bangladesh Bank data also show that yesterday the central bank purchased USD 89 million from seven banks through auction at a rate of Tk 122.30 per dollar. As a result, total dollar purchases by the central bank in the first six months of the current fiscal year reached USD 3.13 billion. Of this amount, Bangladesh Bank purchased more than USD 1 billion in December alone.
Recently, Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H. Mansur said at an event that reserves are expected to reach USD 34–35 billion by the end of December. He emphasized that reserves would be built not through loans from the IMF or other organizations, but by purchasing dollars domestically—a decision he described as the right approach.
