The foreign exchange reserve is rising with falling import costs and a better remittance inflow, according to the Bangladesh Bank (BB).

The forex reserve that stood at $9.96 billion yesterday may exceed $10 billion this week, said an official of the central bank.

Saidur Rahman, general manager of BB, attributed the continued reduction in import costs and healthy export growth to improvements in the forex market.

According to the BB, the country imported goods worth $17.82 billion during the first six months of the current fiscal, which is 16.91 percent higher than the same period a year ago.

M Akhtaruzzaman, economic adviser to the BB, said all financial institutions have been advised not to sanction loans for import of unnecessary and luxury items, which had a positive impact on the country's overall import.

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/ 27th Feb 2012