FE Report

The inter-bank call money rate was steady Wednesday due to injection of fresh cash into market through repurchase agreement (repo). The US dollar, however, gained ground against Bangladesh taka (BDT) in the inter-bank foreign exchange market because of pressure on liquidly, fund managers said.

The call rate in extreme range fluctuated mainly between 7.50 per cent and 12.0 per cent maintaining previous trading day's range.

Most deals were, however, made at rates varying between 7.50 per cent and 9.0 per cent against previous day's range of 7.50 per cent and 8.50 per cent indicating slightly higher pressure on liquidity, they said.

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

The central bank injected fresh cash of Tk 5.60 billion through repurchase agreement (repo) at an interest rate of 8.75 per cent per annum to maintain balance between demand and supply in the market.

The central bank, on the other hand, withdrew Tk 400 million through reverse repo at an annual interest rate of 6.75 per cent.

The dollar slightly gained against taka and the exchange rate of the dollar ranged between Tk 68.92 and Tk 68.96 against previous trading day's range of between Tk 68.90 and Tk 68.96.

The greenback, however, was mostly steady in public deals and the cash dollar was transacted at rates varying between Tk 67.77 and Tk 70.85 against previous trading day's range of between Tk 67.76 and Tk 70.85.

In the informal market, the dollar was steady and it was traded mainly at rates varying between Tk 68.20 and Tk 68.50 against previous day's range of between Tk 68.20 and Tk 68.40. 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 1.2896 and Tk 1.3502.

In the regional market, most currencies were steady. The exchange rate of the dollar against the Indian rupee moved between Rs 51.5550 and Rs 52.7150 and the Pakistani rupee between Rs 79.65 and Rs 80.35. Besides, the exchange rate of the dollar against the Malaysian ringgit varied between 3.6918 ringgit and 3.7209 ringgit and that against the Thai currency between 35.84 baht and 36.69 baht.

In the international market, the exchange rate of the dollar against the Japanese yen mainly varied between 96.98 yen and 98.5990 yen, while the euro moved between 1.2521 dollar and 1.2679 dollar against the greenback.

As on March 04, 2009, the London Inter-bank Offered Rates (LIBOR) against the US dollar were 0.50750 per cent for one month, 1.27130 per cent for three months, 1.81000 per cent for six months, 1.95620 per cent for nine months and 2.10880 per cent for twelve months.