DHAKA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserves fell to 42.20 billion U.S. dollars at the end of May, showed the latest central bank data.
The figure for May was compared to 44.02 billion U.S. dollars in April, and 44.96 billion U.S. dollars a year earlier.
In its bid to boost shrinking forex reserves, Bangladesh Bank (BB) last month relaxed rules to woo more remittances from millions of Bangladeshi people living and working abroad.
Also, the Bangladeshi government last month restricted foreign trips of its officials under the operating and development budgets.
The moves came after the central bank toughened its restrictions on luxury and non-essential imports including sports utility vehicles, washing machines, air conditioners and refrigerators.
All the moves are expected to support Bangladesh's foreign currency reserves, which are still enough to cover the country's six-month import bills.
For a growing economy like Bangladesh, forex reserves equivalent to six months' import bills are considered adequate.
Bangladesh's imports surged about 41.42 percent to 68.67 billion U.S. dollars in the first 10 months of the current 2021-22 fiscal year ending in June, the BB data showed.
Bangladesh's forex reserves surpassed the 48-billion-U.S. dollar mark in August last year, the highest ever in history, due to a slowdown in imports and rising remittance and export earnings during the COVID-19 pandemic. ■
