Record remittance inflow lifts Bangladesh's forex reserves to $31.7bn

Bangladesh's foreign currency reserves have gone up from less than $20 billion to over $31 billion in eleven months by June, 2025, indicating that the country is now going well through an economic recovery phase.

During this period, the record inflow of remittances into the country's national reserves is substantially contributing to the stability of institutions, easing of the liquidity crisis, and to some other activities.

Economists and experts observed that the record inflow of remittances has been an important bellwether of Bangladesh's economic recovery.

According to the Bangladesh Bank (BB) latest data, the country's gross reserves have risen to $31.72 billion by July 2, 2025.

However, as per the International Monetary Fund (IMF) methodology under the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6), Bangladesh's net reserves currently stand at $26.67 billion.

The surge came after a significant increase in remittance inflows, which reached $30.33 billion in the outgoing fiscal year 2024-25 (FY25), marking the highest amount ever received in a single fiscal year in the country's history.

This figure reflects a 26.80% increase compared to the $23.91 billion received in the previous fiscal year (FY24).

This surpasses the earlier record of $24.77 billion received in FY 2020-21 during the Covid-19 pandemic, when remittances spiked due to restrictions on informal hundi channels and the introduction of incentive bonds.

A record $3.29 billion in remittances came through the banking channel in March 2025, the highest in a single month in the country's history. 

In continuation of this, more than $2 billion remittances have arrived in the country each month of the last fiscal year (FY25).

A senior official of the central bank said that the reserves are rising due to the declining trend in money laundering, with a good flow of expatriate income and high growth in exports.

"Almost eleven months ago, the Interim Government came to power, promising to bring changes across the board. A number of policy measures have been taken to reform the national economy, organizations, administration, and thus establishing a strong system of fostering public spirit," he said.

He added the dollar exchange rate has remained stable at around Tk 122 for a long time which is also a positive aspect.

"The main reason for the decline in the dollar price is the increase in supply. The supply of dollars is now at its best over the last two years," he noted.

The Bangladesh Bank official said several factors contributed to the sudden surge of remittances in Bangladesh.

"While the government took a range of initiatives to tackle price manipulation under the capital market, defying the norm, surging exports reaching a staggering amount of $48 billion which has also contributed to this rise," he mentioned.

He said the non-residents or the Bangladeshi expatriates also felt motivated to send remittances legally through the banking channel.