Dhaka, June 27 (V7N) — Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves have surpassed the $24 billion mark for the first time in two years, offering a welcome boost to the national economy. On Thursday, the last working day of the week, reserves stood at $24.14 billion, calculated under the BPM6 standard — the highest level since June 2023.

The rise in reserves has been driven by strong growth in remittance inflows and substantial loan disbursements from international organizations. The country’s gross reserves currently stand at $29.16 billion.

A significant contribution came from the recent disbursement of the fourth and fifth installments of the IMF loan, totaling $1.34 billion, which was credited to the reserves. Additionally, Bangladesh received the remaining $150 million of the $500 million World Bank budget support, with $350 million deposited the previous day. As a result, reserves jumped from $22.65 billion the day before to over $24 billion.

Further increases are expected next week, as Bangladesh is set to receive $420 million in approved funds from JICA on Sunday, followed by $440 million from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) on Monday. These inflows are projected to push gross reserves above $30 billion and BPM6 reserves beyond $25 billion by the end of June — a development seen as a positive signal for the economy.

It is noteworthy that the country's reserves were $20.48 billion on August 5, 2024, when the Awami League government fell. Since then, reserves have shown a steady upward trend. Bangladesh recorded its highest ever reserves of $48 billion in August 2022.

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