IMF cuts growth forecast to 6.5%

The International Monetary Fund has trimmed the economic expansion forecast for Bangladesh to 6.5 per cent for the 2021-22 fiscal year.

Earlier, the World Bank projected that Bangladesh’s economy is expected to grow by 6.4 per cent in Fiscal Year 2021-22.

The IMF made the forecast in its latest World Economic Outlook, titled “Recovery During a Pandemic - Health Concerns, Supply Disruptions, and Price Pressures,” released on Tuesday.

In April, the global financial institution set 7.5 per cent gross domestic product growth for the South Asian country’s economy in the current fiscal year.

For FY22, the government set 7.2 per cent GDP growth, while it estimated 5.47 per cent for FY21.

For emerging and developing Asia, the IMF projected 6.3 per cent growth in the year 2022.

As per the forecast, the IMF projected 9.5 per cent growth for the Indian economy in FY21 followed by Pakistan 4 per cent, Nepal 4.4 per cent, and Sri Lanka 3.3 per cent.

In September, the Asian Development Bank trimmed the forecast of economic growth for Bangladesh to 6.8 per cent for FY22, which was projected at 7.2 per cent in its April outlook.