The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has once again adjusted its growth forecast for Bangladesh’s economy, projecting a growth rate of 5.7 per cent for the ongoing fiscal year of 2023-24.

This revision comes in light of various global and local challenges, notably persistent high inflation.

This marks the second occasion in which the multilateral agency has revised downward its economic growth forecast for Bangladesh.

In October of the previous year, it had initially projected a growth rate of 6 per cent, downgrading its earlier prediction of 6.5 per cent for the same fiscal year.

The IMF announced this revised projection in its latest release of the World Economic Outlook on Tuesday.

The forecast from the international agency comes on the heels of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) announcing last week that Bangladesh’s gross domestic product (GDP) is poised to expand by 6.1 per cent in the fiscal year 2023-24, primarily driven by exports.

Additionally, the IMF has projected a more favorable economic growth of 6.6 per cent for the country in FY25, accompanied by a projected decrease in inflation to 6.1per cent.

Earlier this month, the World Bank, in its latest Bangladesh Development Update, cautioned that the economy is likely to face continued strain in the near future. It anticipates real GDP growth to decelerate to 5.6per cent in FY24 due to inflationary pressures hindering private consumption growth, along with energy and input shortages, escalating interest rates, and vulnerabilities in the financial sector dampening investor confidence.

The IMF’s latest projection follows closely after the Asian Development Bank (ADB) disclosed an optimistic growth forecast for Bangladesh’s economy in April of this year.

The ADB anticipates growth to reach 6.1 per cent for FY24 and 6.6 per cent for FY25, compared to 5.8 per cent recorded a year ago, driven by resilient export expansion.