Bangladesh banks see highest LC openings in May over last 23 months

Both government and private commercial banks opened import LCs amounting to $6.83 billion in May, Bangladesh Bank data show. The figure was an increase of more than 20 per cent over the April figure of $5.68 billion. LC openings in May increased by 19.5 per cent year on year.

The previous highest $7.02 billion worth of LCs were opened in June 2022. Despite fluctuations, LC openings have generally followed a decreasing trend since then.

The inflow of dollars in May was higher compared to normal, a key reason being the receipt of remittances worth $2.25 billion in that month, domestic media reports said. The average monthly remittance inflow is less than $2 billion in this fiscal.

Besides, despite a decrease in overall exports in May, there was a slight increase in export LCs in banks compared to previous times. Payments for previously made exports started arriving.

Banks are alsp benefiting from the introduction of the crawling peg in the exchange rate system.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)