‘This will affect imports. Imported products price may increase, and price of the product might be increased.'
Helal Uddin, Vice President, FBCCI
'The bank now has 50 million cash dollars. Those who need dollars, they can go to the bank.'
Mezbaul Haque, Executive Director, Bangladesh Bank
The price of dollar has recently increased in the country. Bangladesh is an import-dependent country, so if the price of the dollar increases, the cost of imports will increase. Product prices will increase. Inflation will increase the pressure on the consumer, treaders think this.
Dollar price has been increased by Tk 7 to Tk 9 in open market. However, it is not available in all exchange houses. Money exchange officials claim that the supply has suddenly decreased. They also said that the price of dollar has increased due to the unannounced decision of the central bank. It should be noted that, the official price of the dollar was increased by the central bank from Tk 110 to Tk 117 last Wednesday. In this, traders have to pay more dollars than before to open LC. A bank that did at Tk 115 LC last Wednesday, was charging Tk 118 from Tk 117.50 last Thursday.
According to Bangladesh Bank, from now dollar will be traded in a new system called crawling peg. In this method the dollar medium rate is fixed at Tk 117. Banks can add or subtract Tk. In that case the maximum legal value of the dollar will be Tk 118. Dollar price has increased by Tk 7 in the bank, but the price of dollar has increased from Tk 7 to Tk 9 in the open market. It has been found that every dollar is being sold at the rate of Tk125.
Meanwhile, after a media visit to money exchanges in Fakirapool, Paltan, Motijheel and Dilkusha areas of the capital, it was found that the buying rate of one dollar last Wednesday was Tk 114.50, selling was Tk 116. Last Thursday was selling at Tk 125 and not much change was noticed in this rate yesterday also.
An official of Motijheel's Zaman Money Changing House said that there had never been an increase in the price of seven rupees to the dollar. Bangladesh Bank increased the value of the dollar a day ago and this has also affected the open market today. Apart from that, the supply of dollars is also low now.
Helal Uddin, former vice-president of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and president of Bangladesh Shop Owners Association said, Our country is dependent on imports. Our economy has been under pressure for a long time. If the value of the dollar is suddenly too high, it will have a negative impact, especially on imports. The import cost of the product will increase a lot, and the importers will be forced to increase the price of the product.
He said, 'Suddenly, consumers will be pressured by such a decision to increase the price of the dollar. Inflation will increase, people will suffer. But we have to bring our economy to a place. In this case, if the price increases gradually, the suffering will be a little less. Bangladesh Bank should take all aspects into consideration.
Money Changer Association of Bangladesh Secretary General Md Helal Uddin Sikder said that there was no shortage of dollars in the open market. We started selling dollars at rates fixed by the central bank. But suddenly the rate of dollar was fixed at 117 rupees, a little problem has arisen. It would have been better if the money had not increased at the same time. But we are trying so that the dollar rate does not increase too much.
Md Mezbaul Haque, Executive Director and Spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank said, “We have adequate stock and supply of retail dollars. Now who will sell or not, it is his own business. Those who did not get dollars at the money exchange, they can buy dollars only by going to the bank. The bank now has 50 million or five crore cash dollars. Those who need dollars, go to the bank and get them.
Bankers said that the country's dollar crisis has started since the Ukraine-Russia war. At that time, Bangladesh Bank deliberately kept the price of the dollar below 85. Since March 2022, the gradual increase has stopped at Tk 117.
According to studies, during this period 37.64 percent depreciation of Tk has been seen. The rise in the value of the dollar has increased the price of imported goods. This has had a direct impact on inflation, which has been hovering around 9 percent for a long time.
According to economists, rising interest rates on loans and the value of the dollar will help curb inflation. Policy Research Institute (PRI) executive director Ahsan H. Mansoor said, due to the increase in the value of the dollar, the price of imported goods will not have much impact. Because, earlier importers made LC from Tk 117 to Tk 118. Now the matter has become legal through the announcement of Bangladesh Bank. However, he also advised to handle this method called crawling peg with a firm hand.
ZH
