BB buys over $6b from forex market in FY26

Bangladesh Bank’s purchases of US dollars from the foreign exchange market have crossed US$6 billion in the current fiscal year.

This comes as the central bank continues efforts to rebuild foreign ex-change reserves and stabilise the exchange rate amid improving exter-nal sector conditions.

The central bank bought another $85 million from six commercial banks on Tuesday at a cut-off rate of Tk122.75 per dollar, according to a Bang-ladesh Bank spokesperson.

With the latest intervention, total dollar purchases reached $395 million in May alone and $6.07 billion in the 2025-26 fiscal year.

The banking regulator has been purchasing dollars regularly since the start of the fiscal year, supported by stronger remittance inflows, rising export earnings and easing pressure on the foreign exchange market.

The latest buying spree marks a significant reversal from the previous four fiscal years, when the central bank had to sell large volumes of dol-lars to support imports and stabilise the local currency.

Between FY21 and FY25, the central bank sold more than $25 billion from its reserves to meet rising import payments, particularly for fuel, ferti-liser and essential food items amid global price shocks and external economic pressures.

Officials said rebuilding foreign exchange reserves has become a key priority after reserves fell sharply during the prolonged dollar crisis.According to Bangladesh Bank figures, gross foreign exchange reserves stood at $34.31 billion, compared with $25.47 billion in the same period last year.

Under the International Monetary Fund’s BPM6 methodology, reserves rose to $29.65 billion from $20.09 billion a year earlier.

Economists, however, have raised concerns over the timing of continued dollar purchases while inflation remains elevated.

They argue that allowing further exchange rate appreciation could help reduce import costs and ease inflationary pressure on consumers.

Some analysts also warned that large-scale dollar purchases inject li-quidity into the banking system, which may complicate efforts to contain inflation unless offset by tighter monetary measures.

Despite these concerns, central bank officials maintain that exchange rate stability and stronger reserve buffers remain essential to safeguard external sector confidence and ensure smoother import payments in the coming months.