Rising global oil prices, alongside higher import costs, have pushed up dollar demand slightly in Bangladesh’s foreign exchange market. To keep dollar supply steady, Bangladesh Bank has sold dollars from its reserves for the first time in 14 months. The central bank had last sold dollars in July last year.
According to central bank sources, 11.5 million dollars were sold to six banks yesterday. The average dollar rate stood at 123.20 taka on Monday, rising to 123.35 taka on Tuesday.
Crude oil prices have risen in the global market. Brent crude rose nearly 2 percent Tuesday to reach 107.55 dollars a barrel. At the same time, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose to 103.27 dollars. International oil prices have risen amid fears of supply disruption following an attack on Saudi Arabia’s critical East-West oil pipeline.
It is learned that Bangladesh Bank began buying dollars from July 2025 as dollar supply in the market increased and pressure eased. Since then, the central bank has bought around 6 billion dollars.
According to Bangladesh Bank data, the country’s import bill rose 8.6 percent in July this year compared with the same period last year. Imports of petroleum products rose 83.3 percent in July of the 2026-27 fiscal year. Export earnings that month, however, fell 1.6 percent to 4.35 billion dollars.
With import costs rising against falling export earnings, pressure has built between dollar demand and supply in the foreign exchange market. Given this situation, the central bank has begun selling to boost dollar supply in the market.