The Bangladeshi taka weakened on Thursday as dealers sought dollars to pay for imports on worries that strikes could disrupt business in coming days, dealers said. The taka was quoted at 63.00/63.99 per dollar, against 62.00/63.70 on Wednesday. "Dealers were ready to pay any amount to settle import bills in the strike-hit market," one dealer with a foreign bank said.

At least 20 people sustained injuries in a series of small explosions in the capital Dhaka ahead of an opposition-led general strike on Thursday. The main opposition Awami League party and its allies staged a countrywide strike on January 29 to 31. They have called for more stoppages next Saturday and Sunday, working days in mainly Muslim Bangladesh.

Call rates rose slightly and ranged between 4.5 percent and 22.0 percent against 4.0 percent and 18.0 percent on Wednesday.

Copyright Reuters, 2005