Current account deficit hits record high

Bangladesh’s current account deficit recorded an all-time high of $7.08 billion in the first nine months of the current fiscal year as the country's capacity to export is failing to keep up with the appetite for imports.

At this point last fiscal year, the deficit was $1.37 billion.

The previous highest deficit was registered in 2015-16 when it stood at $4.26 billion.

Higher import payments anda moderate growth of remittance inflow and export earnings are mainly responsible for the widening deficit.

In July-March, imports surged 24.50 percent year-on-year whereas exports grew 6.98 percent.

The record current account deficit has already weakened the local currency against the US dollar.

On Wednesday, the interbank exchange rate was Tk 83.10 per USD, up from Tk 80.50 a year earlier, according to central bank data.

The dollar will appreciate further if the deficit is not halted in the months to come, said a central banker.