Bangladesh's net forex reserves stand at $31bn after ACU payment

The reserves after the adjustment can cover four and a half months of import expenses, says a central bank official

Foreign currency reserves have remained above the $31 billion mark after Bangladesh cleared nearly $1.5 billion in import bills through the Asian Clearing Union (ACU).

Net reserves stood at $31.72 billion, while gross reserves were $36.17 billion.

Bangladesh Bank reported these amounts at the end of Monday, using the International Monetary Fund's Balance of Payments (BPM-6) accounting method.

The net reserves were $33.20 billion and the gross amount was $37.85 billion at the end of Sunday.

Central bank spokesperson Arief Hossain Khan said the country's import bill of $1.48 billion for May and June was paid on Monday.

The reserves that remain after the adjustment can also cover four and a half months of import expenses, he said.

The reserves have been on a positive trend for the past few months.

Continued inflow of remittances coupled with the addition of a $1 billion budget support loan from the Asian Development Bank led to the net reserves exceeding $31 billion to $31.07 billion on Jun 14.

The gross reserves soared to $35.62 billion at that time.

Two weeks later, the BPM-6 estimate increased to $32.47 billion with the addition of $667.1 million in World Bank budget support loans.

On Jun 29, the gross reserves surged to $37.05 billion.

The net reserves jumped to $33.01 billion on Jul 2, boosted by remittances and export earnings. On that day, the gross reserves were $37.65 billion.