DHAKA: Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves edged down to $30.04 billion at the end of July from a record high of $30.17 billion the previous month, but were up 18 percent from a year earlier, the central bank said on Tuesday.
The drop was due to a rise in imports, a senior central bank official said, adding that the reserves were sufficient to cover eight months of imports. Steady exports of readymade garments and remittances from Bangladesh nationals working overseas, two mainstays for the country of 160 million people, have helped build reserves in recent years.