Monday, 15 December, 2025
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cautiously welcomed the recent rise in Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves, noting it as a key achievement under the ongoing IMF-supported reform programme.
“The accumulation of reserves is a central objective of the IMF-supported programme, particularly as the country continues to face balance of payments pressures,” said Thomas Helbling, Deputy Director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department.
Responding to a question during a press briefing in Hong Kong on Friday on the Regional Economic Outlook for the Asia-Pacific, Helbling said that building up reserves is crucial to reducing balance of payments vulnerabilities.
He commended the Bangladesh Bank for its success in accumulating reserves and confirmed that an IMF mission would visit Dhaka this month to conduct the fifth review of the $5.5 billion loan programme aimed at stabilising the country’s macroeconomic situation.
“They will hold discussions with the authorities, and it remains to be seen what the outcome will be. The mission will be in the field,” Helbling said.
According to the IMF’s Balance of Payments Manual 6 (BPM6) methodology, Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $27.35 billion on October 16, up from $19.93 billion a year earlier. The increase is attributed to stronger inflows and the central bank’s continued dollar purchases from the market.
Since July 13, under the IMF-prescribed free-floating exchange rate system, the Bangladesh Bank has bought around $2.12 billion from commercial banks as part of its intervention strategy to stabilise reserves.
As of October 21, 2025, reserves rose to $27.35 billion, compared to $26.60 billion a month earlier, according to central bank data.
However, market observers noted that the central bank’s aggressive dollar purchases have created short net open positions (NOP) for several banks, contributing to the recent volatility in the taka-dollar exchange rate.
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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cautiously welcomed the recent rise in Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves, noting it as a key achievement under the ongoing IMF-supported reform programme.
“The accumulation of reserves is a central objective of the IMF-supported programme, particularly as the country continues to face balance of payments pressures,” said Thomas Helbling, Deputy Director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department.
Responding to a question during a press briefing in Hong Kong on Friday on the Regional Economic Outlook for the Asia-Pacific, Helbling said that building up reserves is crucial to reducing balance of payments vulnerabilities.
He commended the Bangladesh Bank for its success in accumulating reserves and confirmed that an IMF mission would visit Dhaka this month to conduct the fifth review of the $5.5 billion loan programme aimed at stabilising the country’s macroeconomic situation.
“They will hold discussions with the authorities, and it remains to be seen what the outcome will be. The mission will be in the field,” Helbling said.
According to the IMF’s Balance of Payments Manual 6 (BPM6) methodology, Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $27.35 billion on October 16, up from $19.93 billion a year earlier. The increase is attributed to stronger inflows and the central bank’s continued dollar purchases from the market.
Since July 13, under the IMF-prescribed free-floating exchange rate system, the Bangladesh Bank has bought around $2.12 billion from commercial banks as part of its intervention strategy to stabilise reserves.
As of October 21, 2025, reserves rose to $27.35 billion, compared to $26.60 billion a month earlier, according to central bank data.
However, market observers noted that the central bank’s aggressive dollar purchases have created short net open positions (NOP) for several banks, contributing to the recent volatility in the taka-dollar exchange rate.
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