Expatriate income rose significantly during the Covid-19 pandemic, boosting forex reserves to over $46 billion in June, 2021. Later, the central bank started selling dollars to deal with the financial crisis, squeezing the total to $23.77 billion by May, 2023. And, the usable reserves fell below the threshold of $13 billion.
On 4 August, forex reserves were $25.96 billion, with usable reserves at $15.53 billion. It dipped slightly to $25.04 billion, with usable reserves at $14.87 billion, following the settlement of the bills of the Asian Clearing Union on 9 October.
In July 2022, Bangladesh sought loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to address deficits in the financial and current accounts. The IMF approved a $4.7 billion loan in January 2023, disbursing $476.3 million in the first installment and $681 million in the second.
