Bangladesh Bank buys $25 million from banks to stabilize market

US Dollar currency notes.

Dhaka, Mar 2 –Bangladesh Bank (BB) on Monday purchased US$25 million from two banks as a continuous effort to maintain stability in the foreign exchange market. 

The central bank bought the dollar at a cutoff rate of Tk 122.30 per dollar, according to a central bank official. 

Arif Hossain Khan, Executive Director and Spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank, confirmed the transaction. "We purchased $25 million from two commercial banks today at the 122.30 cutoff rate," he said. 

With Monday's procurement, the central bank's total dollar purchase for the current fiscal year, FY2025–26, has reached a substantial $5.49 billion, the spokesperson added. 

The central bank has been consistently mopping up dollars from the banking channel throughout February to manage liquidity and exchange rate volatility. 

Earlier on February 24, the BB bought $87 million from eight banks, following a purchase of $123 million from eight commercial banks on February 22. In the first half of February, the bank made several large-scale interventions, including $171 million on Feb 10, $209 million on Feb 9, and $196.5 million on Feb 5. 

Record data shows that on February 2, the bank made its highest single-day purchase of the month, collecting $218.50 million from 16 commercial banks.

All recent transactions have been consistently settled at the exchange rate of Tk 122.30, reflecting the central bank's current peg or target rate for these official interventions. - UNB