During the first four months of the 2023-24 fiscal year (July-October), Bangladesh’s balance of payments took a disturbing turn. Although the trade deficit came down to $3.8 billion, this was an orchestrated dip brought about by putting a hard brake on import growth, which suffered a decline of more than 20 percent while exports displayed only a 3.6-percent growth over the
Bangladesh proposed budget for FY 2023-24: This year, however, FY 2022-23's deficit financing has taken an alarming turn. End-April data suggest that more than 90 percent of the domestic bank borrowing has been from the central bank; that is, by printing money, increasing high-powered money, and creating significant inflationary pressures that will spill well into next year.
IMF loan conditions and Bangladesh's new monetary policy: The IMF loan is not large. It may be able to finance three months’ import costs. This loan will not help us survive, but the prestige of getting an IMF loan will lead to us being able to acquire more US dollars from other sources. This may help in mitigating the dollar crisis that looms if our exports don’t go up and if