DHAKA, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh's gross foreign exchange reserves have climbed back above 36 billion U.S. dollars for the first time in nearly four years, a central bank official said on Thursday.
Quoting the latest Bangladesh Bank (BB) data, the official told Xinhua that "gross forex reserves rose to 36,103.89 million dollars on Wednesday with disbursement of 320 million dollars by a bilateral aid agency."
He said the country's reserves had slipped below the 36 billion dollars level in October 2022 amid a foreign exchange crunch, rising import costs and dollar market strains.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) calculation method, however, Bangladesh's forex reserves increased to 31.55 billion dollars on Wednesday, the BB official said.
Reserves calculated under the IMF's Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual are immediately usable, while gross reserves are usable subject to the liquidation of investments.
The BB official said Bangladesh is now in a position to cover more than six months of import bills with the existing reserves, which are sufficient to help the central bank's efforts in keeping the country's foreign exchange market stable.
Bangladesh's gross foreign exchange reserves hit an all-time high of 48 billion dollars in August 2021. ■
