Country’s foreign exchange reservesrose US$1bn till yesterday to touch US$27bn, creating a new record, said Bangladesh Bank.
Earlier on August 17, the reserves had crossed $26bn mark.
Lower import expenditures amid declining oil prices as well as low costs in food imports are the major factors in creating a new record in reserves, said Kazi Sayedur Rahman, general manager of Bangladesh Bank’s Forex Reserve and Treasury Management Department.
The current reserve, which is the second highest among the SAARC countries just after India, is good enough to meet the country’s import expenditures for the next seven months.
The import expenditure in terms of LC (letter of credit) settlement dropped 5.43% in August compared to the same month of the last year, according to the Bangladesh Bank data.
The LC value stood at $3.17bn in August compared to $3.43bn in the same month of the last year.
Import growth of year on year basis declined almost 8% in August, according to the central bank data.
Bangladesh Bank in its recent monetary policy expected 14% grow in imports and 7.5% growth in exports.
Remittance inflow rose by 12.6% in September compared to previous month due to the Eid festival.
The expatriates sent more remittances home to celebrate Eid which contributed to the higher growth, said a senior executive of Bangladesh Bank.
Country received remittances of $1.346bn in September compared to $1.19bn in August.
The trend of inward remittances was slower in recent months due to stronger local currency against dollar when currencies are tumbling in the Asia region.
The country experienced 14% fall of remittance inflow in August compared to July. The expatriates sent remittances of $1.344bn in September in the last year.
Bangladesh Bank projected 10% growth in remittances for the current fiscal year in its recent monetary policy for first half of fiscal year 2015-16.