Exchange Rate Now!

It has been more than 35 years since Bangladesh has a currency of their own, yet throughout these 35 years, it is noted that the Bangladeshi Taka (BDT) has been on a decline against major currencies around the world, including the US Dollar.

Currently, 1 US Dollar trades at about 68.88 Bangladeshi Taka, or 1 Bangladeshi Taka compared against 0.0145 USD. While this rate is still higher compared to its neighbour Pakistan, there is little indication if the Bangladeshi may appreciate against the US Dollar in the long term.

The value of the Bangladeshi Taka is often affected by the remittance of US Dollar by Bangladeshis working overseas. Many Bangladeshis work overseas as maids, construction workers and other similar low paying jobs, but earning salary still  much higher than if they would had earned in Bangladesh. While there could be hardship, most Bangladeshi are able to endure the time away from home as they will usually head home once they have saved up enough after about 5-10 years, enough for them to setup their own businesses or if they are lucky enough, to retire. In the meantime, the money they remit back (in US Dollar or other currencies) means that there is a stable demand for the Bangladeshi Taka, preventing the value of the Bangladeshi from sliding.

One key trend that can potentially reverse the depreciation of the Bangladeshi Taka is to increase the remittance amount by their overseas citizens. This can be increased not by having more citizens working overseas, but by having citizens working overseas remitting more money home. This will require (more…)

The South African Rand (ZAR) is one of the most used currency in South Africa continent. Zimbabwe and Swaziland also uses the South African Rand unofficially due to the instability of their national currencies.

As recent as 1982, the South African Rand (ZAR) was worth more than the US Dollar (USD). Due to the political instability in South Africa, the Rand underwent a depreciation against the US Dollar. In the global financial/ economic crisis that occurred in late 2008, the Rand traded as low as 11 Rand against 1 US Dollar.

 The Rand has since rebounded and currently trades at 7.76 Rand against the US Dollar. The corresponds to several factors. For one, there is the sharp rebound in global commodity prices (gold, diamond, platinum and other metals for which South Africa is a major exporter).

Secondly, interest in the South African Rand will continue to pick up, in tandem with the hosting of the football World Cup in South Africa in 2010. There are already (more…)