Badrul Ahsan :
In the wake of a volatile money market, the central bank has urged the commercial banks to bring down their exchange rate, particularly against US Dollar, while settling Letters of Credit (LCs). “The bankers have to come forward to stabilise the money market,” Bangladesh Bank Governor Fazle Kabir told the Managing Directors of all private and public banks during a recent meeting with them. He also set Tk 82 against each US Dollar. The Taka continued to maintain a depreciating trend against the dollar in the last few working days, which prompted the central bank to ask the banks to follow the new directives to stop depreciation of Bangladesh currency. Such depreciating trend has thrown the importers of consumable goods and industrial machinery into a dire strait as they are forced to pay higher amount of money against their imported goods.
The volatile money market also feared an adverse impact on the kitchen market ahead of the Ramzan.
BB data showed a significant appreciation of dollar in the formal banking channel over the last few days as it (inter-bank rate) was quoted (buy-sales) at Tk 80.13 on Wednesday from Tk 80.03 on Tuesday.
Against the backdrop, the exchange rate of the dollar increased to Tk 84.80 in different commercial banks on Wednesday as they faced a shortage of the greenback.
The exchange rate of the dollar, however, decreased to Tk 83 in different commercial banks on Thursday.
The BB sold $96 million to the scheduled banks this month for clearing payments against different government purchases, including petroleum oil and fertilizer imports.
A BB official told The New Nation: “Some banks had intentionally played a negative role in appreciating the greenback against the Taka.”
For this reason, the central bank intervened in the money market to prevent the depreciation of the Taka, he added.
BB Deputy Governor SK Sur Chowdhury said the central bank convenes a meeting with the treasury chiefs of all banks today (Sunday) to tackle the unrest situation in the money market.
The central bank initiative will help stabilise the exchange rate within the shortest possible time, Chowdhury hoped.
