Overall trade deficit of the country widened slightly as of November with import cost outstripping export earnings, officials said. The gap increased after a narrowing trend had prevailed over the past few months of the current fiscal year (FY). The overall trade deficit rose to US$3.03 billion during the July-November period of the fiscal year (FY) 2015-16 from $3.02 billion during the same period of the previous fiscal, according to the central bank’s latest statistics, released Sunday.
Trade deficit widens for higher import than export “The trade deficit may widen further in the coming months as the imports are picking up gradually,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE. Gap in services trade decreased to US$ 1.23 billion during the period under review which was $1.58 billion in the first five months of FY15. Trade in services includes tourism, financial service and insurance. However, the current-account balance rose to US$1.06 billion in the July-November period from $582 million in the same period of the previous fiscal. “Rising trend in the current account balance continued over the first five months of this fiscal despite a downturn in inward remittances,” another BB official explained. However, overall balance-of-payments (BoP) situation looked positive, with the balance rising to US$ 2.04 billion during the period from US$ 1.16 billion in the corresponding previous period.
