Dhaka, June 16 -- The World Bank has projected Bangladesh's gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 4.6 percent in the next fiscal year, signalling a more cautious outlook for the economy amid mounting external pressures.

In its latest Global Economic Prospects update released on Thursday -- the same day the finance minister presented the national budget in parliament -- the Washington-based global lender also warned that growth in the outgoing 2025-26 fiscal year could weaken further than previously expected, largely due to the economic fallout from the Iran war.

The new forecast is 1.9 percentage points lower than the growth ambition outlined by Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury in the proposed budget for 2026-27, where he ...