|
Dollar makes record single-day surge in volatile forex market
Siddique Islam
3/10/2006
The value of US dollar made a record single-day surge by Tk 3.40 in a volatile inter-bank foreign exchange market Thursday.
Banks quoted the dollar rate at Tk 71.60 Thursday against Tk 68.20 of the previous day in the inter-bank foreign exchange market.
The deals, however, ranged between Tk 68.25 and Tk 71.60 on the day, sources in the banking sector said.
A private commercial bank (PCB) sold the greenback at Tk 71.60 per unit on the day while the nationalised commercial banks (NCBs) traded the US dollar at Tk 68.25 on the day against Tk 68.20 of the previous day, according to authorised dealers.
The surge in the dollar rate started following a meeting held on the day to review the situation in the country's foreign exchange market. The meeting, convened by the central bank, was attended by the representatives of 14 commercial banks, having major stake in the market.
Other selling banks are likely to re-fix their rates for the greenback from the next working day in line with the Wednesday's rate, the sources hinted.
Besides, the US dollar gained further against the local currency and reached Tk 72.25 Thursday from Wednesday's high at Tk 72.20 in deals for opening letters of credit (LCs) against imports.
For opening LCs against imports, the NCBs quoted the dollar at Tk 69.97, while the foreign commercial banks (FCBs) and private commercial banks (PCBs) sold the greenback at Tk 72.25-72.00 Thursday.
Currently, some commercial banks are facing problems in settling their LC payments due to short supply of the greenback in the inter-bank market.
Sources said the country's foreign exchange market is featured by the dual exchange rates. One rate is fixed by the NCBs and another, by the private commercial banks (PCBs) and foreign commercial banks (FCBs). The rate by the NCBs is lower than those of the PCBs and FCBs.
Besides, the gap between inter-bank rate and that for settlements of LCs is still around Tk 4.00, giving a wrong signal about the market situation, the sources added.
Terming the previous rate as an artificial one, a fund manager said the existing rate of the greenback in the inter-bank foreign exchange market is acceptable because the earlier one was not justifiable.
"We are gradually approaching toward a uniform rate for the greenback in the foreign exchange market," a fund manager of a commercial bank told the FE Thursday, adding that the existing rate will exert a restraining influence on third currency deals in the market.
Two nationalised commercial banks (NCBs) mainly sell the greenback in the inter-bank market while most other banks make the deals in Euro or UK Pound Sterling, instead of the US dollar.
Sources, however, said the NCBs offer Tk 69.02 for one US dollar in case of remittances to the exchange houses aboard and sell the same at Tk 68.20-68.25 in the inter-bank market.
"We are selling the greenback in the inter-bank market at a reduced rate of Tk 0.77 for one unit of US dollar to help maintain the current market trend," a senior official of a NCB told the FE.
Meanwhile, the call rate remained unchanged at 25 per cent Thursday, while most of the deals were settled between 11 per cent and 12 per cent.
|