Al Amin :
The local currency Taka has been depreciating steadily against the US dollar due to the surge in import payments after the relaxation of the recent restrictions caused by Covid-19 pandemic in the country. Reduction of remittance Inflow, lower export earnings comparing to the target and growing import payment are the major reasons behind the devaluation of Taka against dollar, experts said.
Pressure on importers is increasing, despite the exporters are happy with the dollar’s appreciation, they added.
In the interbank currency market, the dollar price rose by Tk. 15 to Tk85.50 from Tk 85.35 and Tk 88.89 in the open markets on Thursday.
Experts said that the price of the US dollar is going up due to the increasing demand in the market. The import pressure in the country has increased, as the Covid-19 pandemic situation has become somewhat normal across the world as well as in the country.
The steady appreciation of the dollar will facilitate the country’s exporters, they said.
Md Serajul Islam, Executive Director and Spokesperson of the Bangladesh Bank (BB), told The New Nation, “We usually take stance regarding the exchange rate of the dollar based on demand and supply situation on the market.”
“It very normal that the exporters will get benefit out of the situation when the demand for the dollar increases on the market,” he added.
However, Mohammad Hatem, Senior Vice-President of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said, “We will be not benefitted from such appreciation of dollar.”
According to the BB data, the inflow of remittance has been decreasing since June this year. The expatriates sent remittance $181 in August this year, which was $196 in the previous year.
Similarly, the export earnings have declined by 31 percent in July-August compared with the previous year.
On the other hand, the country sees an import surge as apparel exporters made big purchases of textile products as capital goods from the international market to meet buyers’ enhanced requirements.
A rising trend in fuel-oil prices on the global market following restoration of connectivity gradually across the world despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has also pushed up overall import-payment obligations, market operators said.
The settlement of letters of credit (LC), generally known as actual import, in terms of value, ballooned by 30.62 per cent to $5.17 billion in August 2021 from $3.96 billion in the previous month, according to the latest data of the central bank.
On the other hand, the opening of LCs, generally known as import orders, rose more than 48 per cent to $6.29 billion in August from $4.25 billion a month before.
BB officials as well as the market operators predicted that the rising trend in import-payment obligation would continue in the coming months.
The central bank is selling a lot of dollars to meet the market demand. Some $786 million has been sold till September 28 of the current fiscal year.
