Forex reserves decline by $51 million in a week

Bangladesh's foreign currency reserves declined by $50.78 million in a week to hit $18.67 billion on June 5.

The reserves stood at $18.72 billion on May 29, as per the latest data from the Bangladesh Bank.

The forex figure was calculated based on the balance of payments and investment position manual of the International Monetary Fund.

The government in its proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year estimated that the forex reserves will hit $32 billion at the end of 2024-25 fiscal year and further rise to $35.1 billion in 2025-26 fiscal year.

However, experts said it is very difficult for the forex to hit $32 billion in the next fiscal year.

The country's foreign currency exchange continued to fall since August 2021 and it fell by $24 billion from that period.

Besides external reasons, mismanagement in the forex market in Bangladesh, frequent policy changes by the central bank and the gap between the official exchange rate and the unofficial one is liable for the volatility in the forex market, experts said.