Remittance drops in Nov
Remittances fell 3.14 percent year-on-year to $1.17 billion in November despite the depreciating trend of the taka against the US dollar.
Bankers and experts did not find any major reason for the fall and said it might be a temporary phenomenon as the interbank exchange rate between the US dollar and the taka is favourable for the near and dear ones of the remitters.
Remittances have kept up an upward trend in recent months, narrowing the country's large deficit in the current account.
There is no actual reason for the decline in remittance last month considering the local and global business environment, said Syed Mahbubur Rahman, chairman of the Association of Bankers, Bangladesh, a platform of the chief executives of private banks. Between July and November, remittance incomes stood at $6.28 billion, up nearly 8 percent from that a year ago, according to data from the central bank.
Bangladeshis living abroad might have sent more money through illegal channels last month as the recipients are getting more than Tk 85 per USD, which is higher than the interbank rate, said AB Mirza Azizul Islam, former finance adviser to a caretaker government.
On December 2, the interbank exchange rate was Tk 83.90 per dollar, up from Tk 82.30 a year ago.
