This decision is a pragmatic step, regardless of whether it was motivated by the necessity of meeting IMF program conditions for the 4th and 5th disbursements
With a flexible exchange rate, BB can now shift its focus toward domestic economic priorities such as inflation control, employment growth, and financial stability instead of continuously defending the currency
The interim government (IG) is set to present its FY26 budget on June 2. The anticipation is that their budget will depart from the past.
The interim government, unburdened by political motivations, has no need to seek popular acclaim
The bilateral trade in goods between the US and China faces the risk of being severed due to the imposition of steep tariffs
On April 2, 2025, US President Trump introduced sweeping reciprocal tariffs, effectively reversing nearly all US tariff liberalisation since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
The average US tariff surged from 2.5 percent to 20 percent with a single executive action
Inflation is rising in Bangladesh as it is in several advanced and emerging economies. Increased headline inflation in February was driven by a spike in food inflation. The 12-month moving average inflation has been on an upward trend since the November 2019 to October 2020 period.
The economic damage from supply disruptions triggered by the confluence of events around the Russian invasion of Ukraine would be severe in some countries and industries and less so in others depending on the depth and breadth of economic ties,
There was no doubt that the growth in gross domestic product (GDP) in FY21 was better than the growth in FY20 even though the pandemic was present with all its ferocity in both years.
The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data provides a somewhat mixed picture on how labour is benefitting from the ongoing economic recovery in Bangladesh.
Consumer price growth has spiked, driven by non-food inflation which is approaching 7 per cent. Inflation in Bangladesh is catching up with global trends. As in the case of the rest of the world, cost-push has been the most important driver which in turn came from increases in energy prices.
Timely revisions to data on GDP and its components determine the accuracy of national accounts estimates and their comparability across countries.
Corporate Bangladesh is increasingly demanding the easing of draconian restrictions on outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) as they seek to diversify earnings. Indeed, OFDI can yield financial, intangible capability, and tangible capacity returns, thus complementing the development benefits realised through trade, migration and inward FDI.
While the pandemic waves on, the budget should focus on crisis management, prioritising spending on health, targeting fiscal support to distressed families and enterprises, restoring the functionality of education, and building on the resilience demonstrated by agriculture while keeping an eye on revenues. A business-as-usual budget like last year will miss the boat again.
In-person schooling in Bangladesh has remained shut since March 2020. Children have already lost a full year, equivalent to 0.6 learning-adjusted years of schooling based on the learning gap implied by the World Bank (WB) in its Human Capital Index (2020) for Bangladesh.
We are going through an unprecedented time, which is economically troublesome.
