Country’s merchandise trade gap with the rest of the world stood at $1.17 billion in July, the first month of the current fiscal year (FY19).
Central bank statistics, released on Thursday, also showed that the trade gap was 12.50 per cent higher than that of $1.04 billion recorded in the same month of the past year.
Gap in services trade, however, declined significantly to $257 million this June which was $414 million in June 2017.
Bangladesh Bank data further showed that the current account registered a negative balance of $278 million in the first month of the current fiscal year against a higher deficit worth $478 million in the same month of FY17.