FROM PAGE B1

$108 million to banks at the new rate in the last two days, said a senior BB official, seeking anonymity.

“We are adjusting the exchange rate gradually.”

In the interbank market, the greenback was traded up to Tk 105.42 on average on February 22, up 22.5 per cent from Tk 86 a year ago. The taka has lost the value because of the US dollar shortages.

Banks also hiked the rate on Wednesday to purchase US dollars from exporters by Tk 1 to Tk 104, a move that is expected to give a boost to the competitiveness of exports in the international market.

Like many other countries, the taka has been under pressure against the dollar over the last one year owing to higher import payments than overall receipts from export and remittance.

As a result, the country’s foreign exchange reserves have fallen. The reserves stood at $45.99 billion on March 1 last year but it declined to $32.30 billion on the same day this year.