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The record inflow of remittance, coupled with steady growth in export receipts, helped significantly narrow down the country's current account deficit (CAD) during the July-March period of the ongoing fiscal year.
Although import growth showed some increase, it was much lower than that of remittance and exports, giving a much-needed impetus to the country's balance of payments (BOP).
According to the Bangladesh Bank data, the current account deficit stood at $659 million in the first nine months of FY25, a sharp decline from $4.40 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
As a result, the overall balance of payments deficit improved by $3.69 billion to reach $1.07 billion, down from $4.76 billion recorded during the same period of FY24.
Other key BOP components also showed positive trends. The financial account recorded a surplus of $1.31 billion, which was only $901 million surplus in the same period of FY24.
Seeking anonymity, a Bangladesh Bank official said remittance and export earnings registered 27.60 per cent and 9.50 per cent growth, respectively, until March of this financial year, while imports grew by 5.60 per cent.
"So, the robust growth in remittance and exports largely contributed to the significant improvement in the current account deficit," he said.
Director General of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) Dr AK Enamul Haque said soon after taking charge, the interim government intensified its efforts to prevent illicit fund outflow while depreciating the local currency against the American greenback in recent times.
As a matter of fact, the noted economist said, the inflow of foreign currency in the form of remittance and export proceeds keeps rising. On the other hand, economic activities have slowed down because of import compression.
"This [import tightness] may not be seen in the future as we have been seeing some signs of economic recovery in recent months," he added.
Chairman of Policy Exchange Bangladesh Dr M Masrur Reaz said the country needs to keep the momentum up in the coming days to make the improvements sustainable.
For this, he said, the $450 billion economy will have to deal with US President Donald Trump's tariff issues smartly and efficiently.
Simultaneously, the economist said, the government must ensure uninterrupted supply of gas and power, particularly to the major exporting factories to facilitate them to continue full-scale production.
Regarding the inward remittance trend, he said the government must continue the ongoing efforts against cross-border illicit fund outflow in the days to come.
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