IMF cuts Bangladesh growth forecast to 4.3% for next fiscal year

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday retained its January estimate of Bangladesh’s economic growth for the current fiscal year at 4.7%.

However, the economy would slow to 4.3% in the next fiscal year starting 1 July, the IMF said in its latest outlook, owing to renewed global energy and shipping disruptions amid the Middle East conflict.

The government has projected a higher economic growth at 6.5% for the 2026-27 fiscal year, a target higher than the latest predictions from all the three major global lenders: World Bank, ADB and IMF.

On Tuesday, the IMF also hiked inflation projection to 9.2% from 8.9% it forecast in January.

Interestingly, in the next fiscal year, inflation would fall dramatically to 6%. The BNP-led government has targeted inflation at 7.5% in the next fiscal.