Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserves hit a record $28.27 billion at the end of March, the central bank said on Sunday, thanks to steady exports and slow import growth due to falling global commodities prices.
The reserves, sufficient to cover eight months' worth of imports, were 22.6 percent higher than at the same period last year.
Rising garment exports and steady remittances from Bangladesh nationals working overseas, two mainstay revenue generators for the impoverished country of 160 million people, have helped foreign exchange reserves grow steadily in recent years.
Early this year, the central bank cut its key interest rates by half a percentage point for the first time in nearly three years as cooling inflation gave it more manoeuvring room to help spur growth.
The central bank expects growth to reach 7 percent in the current financial year that ends in June, picking up from 6.51 percent the previous year.
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