Bafeda refixes dollar rates

Banks in Bangladesh today refixed the rates at which they would buy US dollars from exporters and foreign exchange houses that mobilise remittances from migrant workers.

The new rates will come into effect on October 25.

Under the new rates, exporters will get Tk 99.50 for each US dollar, compared to Tk 99 now.

Banks will pay a maximum of Tk 107 instead of Tk 107.5 to foreign exchange houses.

The decision was taken at a meeting between the Bangladesh Foreign Exchange Dealers' Association (Bafeda) and the Association of Bankers, Bangladesh at Sonali Bank's head office in the capital.

Md Afzal Karim, chairman of the Bafeda, an organisation that implements foreign exchange-related policies, announced the new rate at a media briefing after the meeting.

Importers will continue to buy the greenback based on the weighted average exchange rate plus Tk 1. The average rate will be decided based on the rates paid to exporters and exchange houses.

On September 10, banks fixed the buying and selling rates of the US dollar in order to contain the volatility in the foreign exchange market resulting from higher imports than export and remittances earnings. The rates were changed slightly on September 26.