Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves have climbed back above $31 billion, offering some relief to policymakers after months of pressure on the dollar market.

According to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) accounting method BPM-6, reserves currently stand at $26.08 billion, up from $25.75 billion.

The gross reserve figure reported by Bangladesh Bank rose to $31 billion, compared to $30.59 billion previously.

Bangladesh Bank Executive Director and Spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan confirmed the development on Wednesday, September 17.

While the central bank does not publish its net reserve figures, insiders say the actual usable reserves now exceed $21 billion.

Economists note that a country should ideally maintain enough reserves to cover at least three months of imports. Bangladesh currently sits just at that threshold.

Remittance boost after political change

Officials attribute the rebound partly to a sharp rise in remittances flowing through official banking channels following the country’s recent political transition. This has stabilised the foreign exchange market, allowing Bangladesh Bank to shift from selling dollars to buying them from banks.

On 4 September, the central bank purchased $134 million from five banks, followed by $47.5 million from eight banks on September 2.

According to official figures, remittances reached $2.47 billion in July and $2.42 billion in August of the current fiscal year (2025–26). The highest monthly remittance inflow to date came in March 2025, totalling $3.29 billion.

For the full 2024–25 fiscal year, remittances surged to $30.33 billion, marking a 26.8% increase over the previous year’s $23.91 billion.

A decade of highs and lows

Bangladesh’s reserves have seen dramatic swings over the past decade. In June 2013, reserves were just $15.32 billion. By September 2020, they had crossed $39 billion for the first time, touching $40 billion a month later.

The peak came on August 24, 2021, when reserves hit an all-time high of $48.04 billion. Since then, however, sustained import pressures, loan repayments, and a prolonged dollar shortage have eroded reserves — until the latest remittance-driven recovery.