The current account deficit further widened in the first four months of the fiscal year on the back of sluggish export earnings and higher import payments.

At the end of October, the deficit stood at $3.31 billion, which was $44 million in the same period a year earlier, according to data from the central bank.

Strong import growth coupled with a moderate rise in exports contributed to the current account deficit, said a Bangladesh Bank official.

Between July and October, imports rose 28.70 percent year-on-year and exports 7.63 percent.

The government should take up initiatives to boost export earnings to tackle the large current account deficit, said Salehuddin Ahmed, a former governor of the BB.

A moderate growth in remittance also left an adverse impact on the current account, he said.

Bangladeshis living abroad sent home $5.76 billion in the first five months of the fiscal year, up 10.76 percent from a year earlier.

The growth of inward remittance in the July-November period was good but it has yet to reach the optimum level considering the lower remittance received last fiscal year.

Expatriate Bangladeshis sent home $12.77 billion in fiscal 2016-17, down 14.47 percent year-on-year.

Both the central bank and the government should take effective measures to give a boost to remittance flow, said the former governor.

The central bank should also beef up its monitoring on the import process to see whether the goods brought in match the payments made against them.

The local currency has been depreciating against the US dollar in the last few months due to higher import payments.

The average taka-dollar exchange rate stood at Tk 80.60 yesterday, which was Tk 78.85 a year ago, according to central bank statistics.

The trade deficit also widened 108.75 percent year-on-year to $5.79 billion in the four months to October, BB data showed.