Forex reserves cross $31b mark after 2-year: BB
Published: 29 June 2025, 11:45:37
Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves have crossed $31 billion for the first time in 24 months, buoyed by fresh inflows from multiple international lenders.
According to the Bangladesh Bank, the gross reserves stood at $31.31 billion as of June 29 — the highest since June 2023.
Under the IMF’s Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6) method, which excludes certain liabilities, reserves are now $26.32 billion.
Separately, Bangladesh Bank’s net usable reserves — which it reports confidentially to the IMF — rose sharply, with the central bank formally announcing net international reserves (NIR) of $20.32 billion.
This spike follows disbursements last week from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Asian Development Bank (ADB), and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which together injected over $4 billion into the reserves. Bangladesh Bank consolidated these figures and published them on Sunday.
Officials said the current reserves could cover approximately four months of imports, well above the widely accepted safe threshold of three months, indicating a healthier external position.
Earlier this month, as of June 4, Bangladesh’s gross reserves were only $26.06 billion, with BPM6 reserves at $20.77 billion and net usable reserves around $16 billion.
The central bank highlighted that it has not needed to sell dollars from reserves in the past 10 months, helping stabilize the foreign exchange market. Remittance flows have also improved notably following the change in government, as more expatriates are using official channels to send money home.
Increased fiscal reforms, budget support, and loans exceeding $5 billion over the past year have also contributed to the rebound. Experts believe the improved reserve position will play a critical role in maintaining market stability.
Bangladesh’s reserves hit a record high of $48 billion in August 2021. However, soaring imports, a widening current account deficit, and heavy dollar sales by the central bank to support the taka caused reserves to plummet in subsequent years. The former government sought a $4.7 billion IMF bailout in July 2022 to shore up the dwindling reserves.
