& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Taka regains ground against dollar as imports slow

Bangladesh Bank sharpens market watch

Rejaul Karim Byron
The taka has gained against the dollar because of a reduction in import pressures and intensified monitoring by the central bank.
In the inter-bank forex market, the taka rose to Tk 82 against the dollar on February 21, from Tk 84.07 on January 18, according to data from Bangladesh Bank.
In unofficial markets, the local currency rose to Tk 83.80 against the dollar on February 19 from Tk 85.5 a month ago, the data shows.
Besides high import demand, some malpractices by the banks regarding foreign currency had led to instability in the currency market, a Bangladesh Bank official said.
The official said a recent inspection report by the central bank revealed some irregularities in buying and selling of foreign currency by some banks.
According to rules, the banks must inform the central bank about their purchase of foreign currency from the exchange houses but some banks violated it. Some banks took a rate higher than the rate declared for imports.
Later, the central bank issued a warning letter to the banks and the banks admitted their mistake. They also assured BB that they would
refrain from such irregularities in future.
In recent times, imports also dropped significantly. In December 2011, imports fell by 2.47 percent, bucking the pace of about 37 percent growth in December 2010.
The number of letters of credit opened in July-December fell by 6 percent. In the same time last year, it had increased by 47 percent.
Except for petroleum, LCs opened for food, capital machinery and industrial raw materials fell. In July-December 2011, LCs fell by 62 percent for food imports and 34 percent for capital machinery
imports.
In the recent times, rice production was good and the government stocks were satisfactory. The government has also cut the import of rice and wheat significantly. The private sector is also importing these items less than before.
In the last fiscal year, a huge amount of machinery was imported for the power plants, which dropped this year, a central bank official said.
Bangladesh Bank advised the banks to discourage the opening of LCs for the import of luxury items and unproductive goods.