Forex reserves rise to $33.11b

Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves rose to $33.11 billion at the end of April, $709 million more than one month earlier, the central bank said on Sunday.

The reserves were nearly 2 per cent higher than one year earlier. They are sufficient to cover about 10 months’ of imports for the country of 160 million people, according to the central bank.

In March, the reserves declined about $970 million from the previous month.

Steady garment exports and remittances from Bangladeshis working overseas - the key drivers of the economy - have helped foreign exchange reserves grow steadily in recent years.

Last month, the central bank cut the repo interest rate by 75 basis points to 6 per cent, the first such move since January 2016, in a bid to help achieve the 7.4 per cent economic growth target for the financial year that ends in June.

Bangladesh’s economic growth hit a record 7.28 per cent in the 2016-17 financial year, up from 7.11 per cent one year earlier.