Bangladesh's foreign exchange (forex) reserves slipped below the $21 billion-mark.
According to Bangladesh Bank data, the reserves stood at $20.96 billion on Wednesday, down from $21.05 billion on October 4.
The country had forex reserves of about $40.7 billion in August 2021 and $33.4 billion at the end of FY22, according to a document of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Export and remittance receipts, the two biggest sources of US dollars for Bangladesh, have remained lower than expected levels.
Banks, especially state-run lenders, are taking US dollar support from the central bank to settle import payments of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation, and Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation. Among other agencies, the reserves have been falling continuously.
Bangladesh Bank sold a total of $3.75 billion from reserves to state-owned banks in the first three months of the current FY24.
In the previous FY23, the central bank sold $13.58 billion from the reserves to mitigate the dollar crisis and hold the value of Taka against the greenback.
