DHAKA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserves reached nearly 20 billion U.S. dollars by the end of April, showed the latest central bank data.
Bangladesh Bank data showed that the country's foreign exchange reserves stood at about 19.9 billion dollars on April 30, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) calculation method.
The bank said the gross reserve was 25.37 billion dollars by the end of April.
The reserve calculated under the IMF's balance of payments and investment position manual method is immediately usable, while the gross reserve is also usable subject to the realization of investment.
For a growing economy like Bangladesh, forex reserves equivalent to six months' import bills are considered adequate. With the existing reserves, however, central bank officials said Bangladesh is in a position to pay about four months' import bills.
Bangladesh's gross foreign exchange reserves hit an all-time high of 48 billion dollars in August 2021. ■