Reserves fall to $25.3b after ACU payment

Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserves fell to $25.30 billion yesterday, according to the International Monetary Fund's calculation, after the country cleared $1.50 billion in import bills under the Asian Clearing Union (ACU).

The Tehran-based organisation facilitates payment settlements among nine member countries: India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Iran, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Under the ACU mechanism, Bangladesh clears its import bills every two months, leading to a temporary decline in reserves after each payment.

Following the payment, Bangladesh's gross reserves stood at $30.04 billion overall, according to Bangladesh Bank data.

The foreign exchange reserves, which had fallen below $20 billion in the first half of last year, have been on the rise in recent months, buoyed by increased inflows of remittances and export earnings.

On September 4 last year, the reserves were $20.55 billion, according to the sixth edition of the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6) published by the IMF.

In its July issue of Exchange Rate & Foreign Exchange Market Dynamics, Bangladesh Bank said pressure in the foreign exchange market continued easing on the back of favorable developments in the balance of payments—a summary of a country's transactions with the rest of the world.

The central bank added that the surplus in the overall balance of payments rose to $3.4 billion during the 2024-25 fiscal year, with a significant improvement in the current account balance driven by a surge in remittance inflows, strong export growth, and weak import demand.