Remittance crosses $2b in first 23 days of June

Inward remittances to Bangladesh surpassed $2 billion in the first 23 days of June, as expats sent more money to their relatives on the occasion of Eid-ul-Adha.

According to data from the central bank, the country received a total of $2.05 billion till Sunday (23 June).

By the end of the month, the figure is expected to rise to $2.3 billion, with at least $300 million more incoming within the remaining week of June. 

In June of 2023, $2.2 billion was received in remittances. Therefore, there may be an increase in remittances compared to the same period last year.

In May, remittances reached $2.25 billion. This brings the country's remittances above the $2 billion mark for three consecutive months.

In April, remittances through the country's banking channels amounted to $2.04 billion.

A senior official of the central bank told The Business Standard that remittances have started increasing after introducing the crawling peg system in the dollar exchange rate. 

Earlier on 8 May, the greenback became costlier by Tk7 as the taka was devalued by history's largest margin by the Bangladesh Bank. 

Mentioning that now the dollar's official mid rate is Tk117, the central bank official further said, "If banks want to, they can buy and sell dollars at rates slightly higher than that on the basis of demand and supply. As a result, remittances have started to increase."

Currently, banks are collecting remittances at the rate of Tk117.80-118.30.

Remittances have increased by $1.96 billion or 10.09% in the first 11 months of FY2024, according to a Bangladesh Bank report.

Expatriates sent $21.37 billion in remittances in July-May of the current fiscal 2023-24, an increase from the $19.41 billion sent in the same period of FY23.