Value of Bangladesh currency lowered by Tk 18 in a year

Staff Correspondent: Dollar crisis has been going on in the country for almost two years. At present the price of this foreign currency is at its peak. In the open market, the retail dollar price stood at Tk127. At the beginning of this year, which was Tk110. That is, this year the value of the taka has decreased by Tk 18.
Bank officials say that the dollar crisis has been going on for a long time. In such a situation, many banks of the country are not able to open LC on time. That is why many banks are buying remittances at high prices. This has also affected the open market dollar.
It is known that at present it costs Tk 127 to buy every dollar in the open market. And at the beginning of the year which was Tk110. According to that, Tk 18 decreased against every dollar in the current year.
Besides fixing the dollar rate to control high inflation, Bangladesh Bank has been selling a lot of dollars from the reserve. In the current fiscal year, it has already sold about $4.5 billion. Last fiscal year, sales were $13.58 billion. The previous fiscal year was $7.62 billion. The price of the dollar could not be kept under control.
However, at this time, Bangladesh Bank has taken various initiatives to control the prices. Currently, Bangladesh Foreign Exchange Dealers Association (BAFEDA) and Association of Bankers Bangladesh (ABB) are fixing the dollar price on the advice of Bangladesh Bank. However, many banks and exchange houses are not buying and selling dollars at fixed prices. Therefore, ABB and BAFEDA have recently sought the assistance of Bangladesh Bank in controlling the dollar market.
ABB Chairman Salim RF Hossain said, we are going through a difficult situation due to the foreign exchange crisis. We all need to work together to solve this problem. According to our latest instructions, any bank can buy remittance up to Tk 116. But can’t sell for more than Tk 111.
Meanwhile, amid this crisis, banks buy dollars from foreign exchange houses at a rate of more than Tk 122. After this became known, the price of cash dollar is increasing rapidly in the open market.
Taka devalued by Tk 7 in a week
There is a severe shortage of dollars in the country. The price is increasing uncontrollably. On the contrary, the value of money is decreasing. The central bank is not able to control the prices even with various measures. As a result, the price of the retail dollar in the open market has stopped at Tk 126 to Tk 127.
Those going abroad for medical, education or travel have to spend up to Tk 127 per dollar to buy cash. A week ago, the price of the dollar was Tk 120 in the open market. And at the beginning of the year, the price was Tk 110. Accordingly, the value of the taka has decreased by Tk 7 per dollar in the week, and has decreased by Tk 18 in the current year.
The sector stakeholders say that the banks are not able to pay the import debt due to the dollar crisis. Therefore, to deal with the crisis, many banks are buying expatriate income at a higher price. On this occasion, the foreign exchange houses suddenly increased the dollar price of remittance from Tk 12 to Tk 14. As a result, many banks were forced to buy expatriate income at Tk 123 to Tk 124. Due to this, the price of the dollar in the open market has also increased.
Abdur Rahman, a retail dollar seller in MotijheelDilkushar area, said that the market is very expensive even today. If someone wants to sell dollars, I am paying Tk 125 to Tk 125.50. If anyone wants to buy it, I am selling it from Tk 126 to Tk 127. Thursday was also Tk 126.
Why suddenly increased the price? In response to such question, he said, if the demand increases, the price also increases. Now the bank is buying dollar at Tk 124 to Tk 125, then it will be Tk 126- Tk 128 in the open market.
Arman Arif will go to Dubai for office work. Looking for different places to buy cash dollars. He said, today I looked for some banks to buy dollars. No bank wanted to sell dollars. Later I called a few money changers and asked for an unofficial rate of Tk 126.50. Can’t buy dollars yet. Let’s see if the price drops. Flights next week, should be bought even if the price does not drop in between.
Regarding the dollar market, the executive director and spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank Majbaul Haque said, there was no such problem in the last 6 months; The price of the dollar has never been Tk 124. Unleashing of additional stimulus has led to chaos in the dollar market. Now they (ABB and BAFEDA) have fixed a rate after reviewing the market situation. They have sought help from the central bank in implementing their fixed rates. All kinds of assistance will be provided by the central bank to control the dollar market.