Bangladesh’s current account balance in July FY24 showed a positive trend, standing at $537 million, a significant improvement from the negative $449 million in the same month last year. However, the overall balance of payments remained negative at $1.06 billion during the period due to slow growth in new aid, investments, and foreign loans, coupled with increased repayments of such liabilities.
Medium and long-term foreign investments declined by 15.45% year-on-year to $405 million, while the repayment of these loans increased by 25.74% to $171 million. The country’s trade deficit narrowed by 69.73% year-on-year to $635 million in the first month of FY24, driven by slower import growth compared to export growth. Economists expressed concerns about the persistence of large import bills and recommended measures to manage essential imports efficiently amid the pressure on forex reserves.