Money Market
In the Treasury bill auction held on Sunday, bid for BDT 11,400.00 was accepted, compared with total of BDT 10,195.00 million in the previous week's bid.

Overnight money market was steady throughout the week. The call money rate remained unchanged throughout the week and ranged between 6.50 and 7.00 percent.

International FX Market
The dollar slid on Friday after a report showed the US economy grew at a surprisingly slow clip in the second quarter, backing a view that the Federal Reserve may leave interest rates on hold next month. The dollar fell 0.85 percent against the yen. The euro rose 0.4 percent on the day, but fell 0.45 percent against the yen. At the beginning of the week, the yen rose to its strongest levels in over two weeks against the euro and the dollar on Monday, after upbeat Japanese industrial output data prompted investors to cut back their short positions in the currency. The dollar held near a 3-week low against a basket of currencies after Friday's soft US growth data dampened expectations for an interest rate hike in August.

The dollar was down around 0.2 percent on the day against the yen, just off a 2-1/2 week low of hit earlier in the session.

In the middle of the week, the dollar edged up from this week's three-week low against major currencies on Tuesday. The euro was down 0.2 percent against the dollar after hitting a three-week high in the previous session. The dollar was up 0.1 percent against the yen having hit a three-week low on Monday. The ECB is expected to raise the rates by 25 basis points to 3 percent later this week. The euro held near its highest level against the dollar in nearly a month on Wednesday. Dollar was up 0.2 percent against the euro, having hit a one-month low earlier, while it was steady against the yen. Against the yen, the euro lost around 0.2 percent. The yen got some support from comments by Bank of Japan Policy Board member Atsushi Mizuno, who said it would be a mistake to think there would be no more rate rises this year. Elsewhere, the Australian dollar strengthened after the Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates as expected.

By the end of the week, the euro retreated from this week's one-month high against the dollar on Thursday as investors awaited signals on future interest rate rises from the European Central Bank after an expected interest rate hike. The ECB is expected to raise rates to 3 percent in a decision to be announced today. The euro was down 0.3 percent against the dollar having hit a one-month high on Wednesday. Against the yen, the dollar was up 0.4 percent on the day, while the euro was up 0.1 percent. Sterling got a small boost after ltaly's central bank said it had cut the share of its dollar reserves to 63 percent from 84, raised holdings of sterling to 25 percent from zero in 2004, and trimmed reserves in the yen. Investors are awaiting an interest rate decision by the Bank of England where some economists see a chance of tightening.

- Standard Chartered Bank