Despite $1.88 Billion ACU Payment, Forex Reserves Remain Above $20 Billion

Bangladesh has paid $1.88 billion to the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) for the March–April period, yet the country’s foreign exchange reserves remain above $20 billion. According to Bangladesh Bank sources, the reserves stood at $22.06 billion at the beginning of Tuesday but dropped to $20.18 billion by the end of the day after the ACU payment.

The ACU is a regional payment arrangement that facilitates inter-country trade settlement every two months among member countries including Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Iran, Myanmar, and the Maldives. Sri Lanka was previously a member but withdrew due to its economic crisis.

Bangladesh Bank previously made ACU payments of $1.75 billion for January–February and $1.67 billion for November–December.

A central bank official commented, “Unlike during the previous government’s term when reserves declined rapidly, the current pace of decline is slower. In fact, reserves have recently shown some signs of stability.”

According to Bangladesh Bank data, reserves peaked at $48.06 billion in August 2021, but gradually declined to $20.48 billion by July last year. However, as of April 30 this year, reserves had risen again to over $22 billion.

Officials also noted a decline in money laundering and hundi (informal remittance channels), leading to a 28.34% increase in remittance inflow and a 9.83% rise in export earnings, which has helped stabilize the dollar market.

An anonymous central bank source told Prothom Alo that final accounting after the ACU bill payment is still pending and will be completed on Wednesday, at which point the accurate reserve figure will be available.