& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Current account heading for deficit

Govt says IMF loan to help meet the shortfall

Reiaul Karim Byron
The current account may fall into deficit at $884 million for the first time in seven years due to a wider trade gap and slow remittance growth.
Earlier such deficit was recorded at $557 million in fiscal2004-05, according to Bangladesh Bank data.
The government presented the information in a report on the country's overall economic situation at a meeting with Standard and Poor's on the sidelines of the annual IMF meeting in Washington on September25.
Government high officials led by Finance Minister AMA Muhith attended the meeting.
Except for balance of payments (BoP), the state of the economy is good and the credit rating agency is satisfied with it, Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman told The Daily Star by phone from Washington.
The BB governor said
may be 5 percent in the current fiscal year, down from 6.03 percent last fiscal year.
An IMF mission that visited Bangladesh recently also projected that the country's current account deficit will be $861 million in the current fiscal year.
According to IMF estimates, trade deficit will increase by around 31 percent and may reach $9.58 billion this fiscal year.
The current account balance was also under a tremendous pressure last year which resulted in the overall deficit in the last lOyears.
However, the IMF said one of the major causes of the pressure on the current account balance is the substantial rise in fuel prices on the internationalmarket.
According to IMF projection, oil import bill may reach $6.24 billion in the current fiscal year, up from $4.10 billion last year.
At a meeting, the gov-
they are hopeful that the rating of Bangladesh will improve further next time.
Rahman also said if an IMF loan, which the government sought earlier for BoP support, is available, the BoP situation will improve.
Already the finance minister in Washington sought quick release of BoP support.
The government report said the current account balance is projected to swing into deficit in fiscal 2011-12, with remittance inflows falling short of the increasing deficits in trade, services and income accounts.
The government projected that remittance growth
ernment officials told the rating agency that Bangladesh has been facing a pressure due to the volatile situation in the world oil market
The government in the report portrayed a bright picture of the overall economy. It said the growth target of 7 percent is quite achievable provided that internal and external environment remains benign and stable, with major progress in power and gas supply.
On inflation the report said it will be limited within 7.5 percent if the global commodity price trends remain moderate and demand pressures from excessive liquidity expansion remain limited with a stable benign domestic environment with no major supply side disruption.