<div style="text-align: justify; "><b><span style="font-size: 1rem;">The US dollar almost disappeared in the unofficial kerb market amid a sharp rise in its price on Thursday, a day after Bangladesh Bank raised the exchange rate by Tk 7 in a single step.</span><br></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The central bank introduced a crawling peg system on Wednesday to determine the exchange rate of the US dollar with the taka. By applying the system the regulator&nbsp; increased the exchange rate of a dollar by Tk7 in a single day.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As a result, the greenback was hard to be found in the kerb market amid reports of hoarding of the currency by traders for profits in the future. Desperate buyers reportedly even paid up to Tk125 for one dollar in the kerb market to meet their travel and treatment expenses abroad.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Thursday, Munira Ahsan, a private job holder told UNB she tried to buy $5000 from kerb market to meet her father's treatment in Thailand. But she found the currency was available only at Tk125 per dollar in the kerb market.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She earlier sought to buy dollars from banks. The banks, she said, asked for multiple documents and had too many questions to sell 5000 dollars. A bank agreed to supply only 500 dollars, after taking 5 types of documents, said Munira.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She then went to the kerb market as she had get the money for her father's surgery at a hospital in Thailand.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The rate of the US dollar was around Tk117 in the informal market until May 8, but it shot up suddenly after the announcement of an exchange rate hike from the central bank, said a money changer in Paltan seeking to remain unnamed. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd/fas</div>