New Delhi, Nov 8 (SocialNews.XYZ) Bangladesh's trade deficit jumped up 31 per cent year-on-year to $7.48 billion in July-September of the current financial year as the country’s fuel import bill more than doubled as oil prices soared due to the West Asia conflict, according to the latest data released by the Bangladesh Bank.
The country, which is highly dependent on imports for oil and gas, imported $19.33 billion worth of goods in the first quarter of the 2026-27 fiscal year. Import payments increased 15 per cent year-on-year. By contrast, export earnings rose only by 7 per cent to $11.86 billion during this period, according to a report in Dhaka's The Daily Star.
The main driver behind the widening trade deficit was fuel. Imports of petroleum products rose 105 per cent to $4.2 billion from $2.0 billion, accounting for most of the increase in total imports. Food imports also climbed, with edible oil purchases up 54 per cent and wheat imports rising by as much as 66 per cent.
However, imports of capital goods and capital machinery fell, pointing to weaker business investment amid the economic slowdown, persistent inflation and a lack of investor confidence stemming from uncertainty.
Imports of capital goods dipped 13.6 per cent in the July-September period. Of these, imports of capital machinery slumped 22.5 per cent year-on-year to roughly $770 million. The Bangladesh Bank data showed that the current account deficit, which covers trade, services, income and transfers with the rest of the world, increased to $1.33 billion from $821 million a year earlier.
Remittances helped limit the gap. Inflows rose 13 per cent to $8.59 billion, led by Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Despite the increase in remittances, the country’s overall external account deficit widened. During the first quarter of this fiscal year, the deficit stood at $1.16 billion, against a surplus of $853 million in the same period a year earlier, reflecting that total foreign currency inflows were insufficient to cover external payments, with Bangladesh Bank meeting the shortfall from its reserves, the report added.
Source: IANS
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