The country's trade deficit widened at the very beginning of the current FY27.
In the first month of July, import payments increased while export earnings declined, driving the trade deficit for the month to $2.09 billion.
This information was revealed in Bangladesh Bank's July report on the balance of foreign payments.
According to central bank data, the country spent $6.44 billion on merchandise imports in July of FY27.
This reflects an 8.60% increase compared to the import expenditure in the same month of the previous fiscal year.
On the other hand, export earnings in July stood at $4.35 billion.
Compared to the same period last year, export earnings declined by 1.60 percent.
Consequently, the gap between import spending and export revenue broadened further, pushing the trade deficit to $2.09 billion.
In July of FY26, this deficit stood at $1.51 billion.
Despite the expanding trade gap, Bangladesh maintained a current account surplus driven by strong remittance inflows.
Remittances totaled nearly $2.86 billion in July, marking an increase of approximately 15.50% over the same month of the previous year.
As a result, the current account recorded a surplus of $64 million at the end of July.
However, the current account surplus stood at $125 million during the same period in FY26.
Meanwhile, the financial account deficit narrowed slightly in the first month of the fiscal year, coming in at $680 million in July.
In the same month of the previous fiscal year, this deficit was $880 million.
Central bank figures also show that flows of foreign loans and grants decreased at the start of the current fiscal year.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) saw a reduction as well, with FDI inflows at $110 million in July—down by $10 million compared to the same month last year.
Overall, the country recorded a deficit of $630 million in its overall balance of payments in July of the current FY27.
In July of FY26, the overall balance deficit was $540 million.