FE Report

The inter-bank call money rate was steady Monday despite withdrawal of cash through reverse repurchase agreement (repo). The US dollar, however, gained against Bangladesh taka (BDT) in the inter-bank foreign exchange market due to higher demand for the greenback, fund managers said.

The call rate in extreme range moved mainly between 8.0 per cent and 12.0 per cent maintaining previous trading day's range.

Most deals were, however, made at rates varying between 8.0 per cent and 8.75 per cent against previous day's range of 8.0 per cent and 8.50 per cent indicating mostly steady pressure on liquidity, they said.

The rate, however, rose above main trend with borrowing of cash by some financial institutions from inter-bank market at high rates in stray deals to meet immediate needs of their clients, fund managers said.

The central bank withdrew Tk 4.45 billion through reverse repo at an interest rate of 6.75 per cent per annum.

The central bank, however, injected Tk 1.03 billion through repurchase agreement (repo) auctions at an annual interest rate of 8.75 per cent enabling the market to maintain balance between demand and supply, they said.

The dollar marked gain against taka due to increased import payment obligations. The exchange rate of the dollar varied between Tk 68.90 and Tk 68.93 against previous trading day's rate of Tk 68.90.

The market was active with beginning of trading in the international market after weekend.

The greenback, however, remained steady in public deals and the cash dollar was transacted at rates varying between Tk 67.80 and Tk 70.85 maintaining previous trading day's range.

In the informal market, the dollar was steady and it was traded mainly at rates varying between Tk 68.20 and Tk 68.40 against previous day's range of between Tk 68.20 and Tk 68.50. The informal market experienced moderate demand for the foreign currency, money dealers said.

The exchange rate of the Indian rupee against the taka fluctuated between Tk 1.3012 and Tk 1.3839.

In the regional market, most currencies were steady. The exchange rate of the dollar against the Indian rupee moved between Re 49.6850 and Re 50.6850 and the Pakistani rupees between Rs 79.70 and Rs 80.45. Besides, the exchange rate of the dollar against the Malaysian ringgit varied between 3.5356 ringgit and 3.6811 ringgit and that against the Thai currency between 35.1750 baht and 36.20 baht.

In the international market, the exchange rate of the dollar against the Japanese yen mainly varied between 93.1990 yen and 93.6520 yen, while the euro moved between 1.2758 dollar and 1.2831 dollar against the greenback.