Financial account recorded $2b surplus in first half of FY26, overall BOP remains positive
Supported by the strong financial account surplus, Bangladesh’s overall balance of payments recorded a surplus of $1.94 billion in July–December FY26
Bangladesh's financial account recorded a surplus of $2.04 billion in the first six months of the current fiscal year, driven by higher net foreign direct investment (FDI) and increased trade credit.
According to the Balance of Payments (BOP) data released by the Bangladesh Bank today (9 February), the surplus during July–December of FY26 marks a sharp improvement from $525 million in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
At the same time, the country's current account deficit narrowed to $343 million in the first half of FY26, down from a deficit of $518 million a year earlier, supported mainly by strong remittance inflows of $16.6 billion.
Supported by the strong financial account surplus, Bangladesh's overall balance of payments recorded a surplus of $1.94 billion in July–December FY26, compared to a deficit of $467 million in the same period last year.
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The current account is a key component of the balance of payments (BOP), reflecting a country's trade in goods and services, income from abroad, and current transfers such as remittances.
Bangladesh Bank data show that the trade deficit widened by 18.34% year-on-year to $11.55 billion during July–December FY26, compared to $9.76 billion in the same period last year. Imports rose by 5% to $33.67 billion, while exports grew by only 0.9% to $22.12 billion.
A senior Bangladesh Bank official said the rise in imports was mainly driven by higher purchases of consumer goods and capital machinery. Imports of consumer goods increased by 10.32%, while capital machinery imports jumped by 23.64%.
Zahid Hussain, former lead economist at the World Bank's Dhaka office, told The Business Standard that trade credit and net aid flows were the two main factors behind the strong financial account performance.
He explained that trade credit often turns negative when exports rise, but weaker export growth and higher deferred import payments have pushed it into surplus this time.
Remittance inflows in the first half of FY26 were about $2.5 billion higher than a year earlier. However, the trade deficit was roughly $1.79 billion wider, offsetting much of the remittance gain and limiting the improvement in the current account, according to him.
"The deterioration is primarily due to the widening trade deficit," Zahid Hussain said.
"Imports have increased, which in itself is not bad for the economy, but exports have not grown accordingly. In fact, export growth has fallen below 1%, widening the trade deficit and weighing on the current account."
He added, "An increase in imports is not a bad thing for the economy; rather, it is a sign of a healthy economy."
"A decline in exports, however, is detrimental. Therefore, I believe it is essential to work on increasing the country's exports in the coming days," the economist said.
