Bangladesh's forex reserves fall to around 6-year low

Dhaka, April 10 Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserves reached $31.14 billion by the end of March, the lowest since December 2016, showed the latest central bank data.

Bangladesh Bank (BB) data showed the country's foreign exchange reserves stood at $31,142.72 million in March from $32,333.71 million in February, Xinhua news agency reported.

This is the lowest level of forex reserves Bangladesh has held since December 2016 when the country's foreign exchange reserves crossed the $32 billion mark for the first time, an official of the bank's Forex Reserve and Treasury Management Department said on condition of anonymity.

The official said that reserves slumped to a six-year low amid soaring import costs due to the Ukraine crisis that has dealt a major shock to commodity markets worldwide.

Forex reserves equivalent to six months' import bills are considered adequate for a growing economy like Bangladesh.

With the existing reserves, however, central bank officials said Bangladesh is in a position to pay around five months' import bills.

Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserves hit an all-time high of $48 billion in August 2021.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor