Taka's value falls again

The Bangladeshi Taka on Monday depreciated further against the US dollar, up by Tk0.50 to Tk92.50.

The rate was Tk92 on Sunday.

This marks the 13th time the local currency has fallen in value this year so far.

The Bangladesh Foreign Exchange Dealers Association (Bafeda) and the Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB) on Sunday urged Bangladesh Bank to increase the supply of dollars to ease the existing foreign currency crisis caused by soaring trade deficit and declining remittance.

In a meeting with the central bank Governor Fazle Kabir on Sunday, the banks agreed to work together to help the central bank increase dollar supply, which, they said, will ultimately bring down its price to the normal level.

However, rise in the greenback's demand and inadequate supply still played a crucial role in the Taka losing its value.

The foreign exchange reserves stood at $41.7 billion last week. It was $48 billion in August last year. The central bank has so far sold about $7 billion dollars to banks in the ongoing fiscal year.

The country's trade deficit hit a record $27.56 billion high in the first 10 months of the ongoing fiscal year 2021-22, with high import expenditures and low export earnings, according to the central bank.

Meanwhile, money sent home by expatriate Bangladeshis fell by around 13% year-on-year to $1.88 billion in May, it also said.

The amount was $2.01 billion in April this year, which means the May remittance inflow fell by 6.23% from the previous month.

In the 11 months of the current fiscal, the country received $19.19 billion as remittances, 15.94% lower year-on-year.