Bankers and exporters said that further depreciation of the dollar which went as high as Tk 84.45 on January 29 would put a negative impact on the country’s export sector and the inward inflow of remittance.
BB data showed that the dollar had depreciated almost every day in December as it was quoted at Tk 79.90 to Tk 79.92 on Monday against Tk 81.26-Tk 81.37 on December 2.

The selling rate of the dollar by different banks in February soared to the range of Tk 84.50 to Tk 85.50 due to a high import payment and less-than-expected export, and lack of foreign loan disbursement.

A BB official said that the central bank had been trying to stop the depreciation of greenback in the last few months to earn uninterruptedly export earning and inward remittances, but its efforts apparently turned a failed case.

He said, ‘A number of scheduled banks are now keeping excess greenback as the opening and settlement of letters of credit significantly decreased in the last few months.’

For this reason, the BB purchased more than $2 billion from the local banks from July 1 to till December 24 of this financial year in bid to tackle the deprecation against the taka.’

He said banks were now reluctant to open fresh LCs after Hallmark Group-Sonali Bank scam which ultimately hit the foreign exchange transaction.

The BB bought $57 million on Thursday from the commercial banks at market rate to offset the increased supply of foreign exchange in the market, he said.

Following the US dollar purchase, the country’s forex reserve rose to a record $12.40 billion on December 18 from $12.20 billion on December 17. It rose to $12.65 billion on Monday.

The forex reserve will significantly increase further by the end of this month as the country already received $642 million as remittance between December 1 and December 14, he said.

Former Bangladesh Bank governor Salehuddin Ahmed told New Age on Monday that the country’s export earning and inward remittances might slow down in the coming days if the depreciation of the dollar against the taka continued.

He said, ‘The country’s forex reserve recently made a record but the import of capital machinery and industrial raw materials continued to decline in the first four months of the FY 2012-13. The declining import of such types of products is not a positive trend for the country’s macroeconomic situation.’

He said the gross domestic products would drop if the import of capital machinery and the industrial raw material decreased.

Exporters Association of Bangladesh president Abdus Salam Murshedy said they would face more competition to export their products due to the depreciation of dollar against taka.

He said that they had got a significant amount of export earning in the FY 2010-11 due a stable rate of the dollar against the local currency.

He demanded that the government should set the dollar rate comparing the greenback rates in the neighbouring countries and in the competitor countries.

He said, ‘The employment generation will face crisis if the export-orientated industries become depressed.’