Published : 27 October 2026
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Updated : 26 October 2026, 23:22
Star Business Report
The US dollar rose slightly against the taka yesterday as banks faced mounting pressure to settle letters of credit (LCs) for oil and gas imports.
Eastern Bank PLC quoted the dollar at Tk 123.98 for spot selling and Tk 122.98 for spot buying, up from Tk 123.95 and Tk 122.95, respectively, a day earlier. The rates were considerably lower a week ago.
State-owned Sonali Bank quoted the dollar at Tk 123.90 for spot selling and between Tk 122.63 and Tk 122.90 for spot buying.
In the interbank market, the weighted average dollar rate rose to Tk 123.75 yesterday from Tk 123.73 a day earlier and Tk 123.45 a week ago, according to Bangladesh Bank (BB) data.
Bankers attributed the increase mainly to higher payment pressure for oil and gas imports.
A BB official said dollar inflows and outflows were roughly balanced, but payment pressure usually increases towards the end of a month
A treasury head of a state-owned bank, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Daily Star that government payments for oil and gas imports were putting heavy pressure on the market. His bank was also facing a slight dollar shortage, he said.
Import payments rose 12 percent year-on-year to $12.20 billion in July and August of the current fiscal year, according to BB data. Payments for petroleum products alone doubled to $2.49 billion.
Industry insiders said global fuel prices had risen amid tensions in the Middle East, increasing the country’s import bill.
A BB official said dollar inflows and outflows were roughly balanced, but payment pressure usually increased towards the end of the month, pushing up the exchange rate.
Remittance inflows also tended to slow towards the end of the month, creating a temporary mismatch in the market, the official added.
Expatriate Bangladeshis sent home $2.13 billion between October 1 and 24, up from $2 billion in the same period last year.
Despite some volatility in the foreign exchange market, the country’s reserves remained at a comfortable level. The central bank data showed that reserves stood at $31.54 billion under the BPM6 method on October 19, up from $26.34 billion a year earlier.