Despite a decline in exports, Bangladesh's trade deficit decreased by $6 billion to $20 billion in the first 11 months of FY24, thanks to a significant reduction in imports.
However, the trade deficit increased by $1.52 billion in May. Still, the pressure on the trade balance eased slightly as imports fell by 12.6% year-on-year during July-May of FY24, according to Bangladesh Bank data.
The current account -- considered the primary account of a country and consisting of remittances, exports, and imports -- is in deficit by $5.98 billion for July-May of FY24, according to central bank data.
The deficit was over $12 billion at the end of the same period of the previous fiscal year.
Despite a 10.1% growth in remittances, the current account deficit widened slightly due to a decline in exports.
Mainly because of the high trade deficit, the current account could not achieve a surplus even with the growth in remittances.
According to central bank data, the financial account surplus at the end of May decreased by $226 million compared to April, totalling $2.08 billion.
The balance of payments statement for July-April of FY24 revealed that the financial account swung to a surplus of $2.2 billion, reversing from a historic deficit of $9.25 billion a month earlier.
The overall deficit of the balance of payments stands at $5.88 billion for July-May of FY24.
