Inflation stays below target

Inflation remained below the target of 5.6 percent in fiscal 2018-19 at 5.48 percent.

The rate of rise in the prices of both food and non-food items was lower compared to the previous fiscal year, according to official statistics.

In fiscal 2017-18, the inflation rate was 5.78 percent. 

In 2016-17 fiscal year, the rate was 5.44 percent, down from 5.92 percent in the previous fiscal year, according to the latest report of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), a government entity. 

Average 5.48 percent inflation means an individual will now require Tk105.48 to purchase the same product or service that used to cost Tk100 a year ago.  

Now consumers have to buy fewer products or services of Tk 5.48 compared to the previous year if their income does not increase. 

The BBS, meanwhile, claimed that the wages rose by 6.58 percent in the last one year.  

Planning Minister MA Mannan released the report after a weekly meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Monday.

The minister said though it maintained an upward trend for several months in a row, overall inflation fell in June, the last month of the 2018-19 fiscal year. 

According to the report, inflation dropped to a 12-month low in June thanks to a fall in the prices of both food and non-food items. 

In June, urban inflation fell to 5.78 percent from 5.96 percent while non-food inflation remained unchanged in rural areas, despite a decline in food inflation.

Average rate of inflation stayed below FY2017-18’s 5.78 percent, the BBS report added.

To highlight the cost of living, BBS releases information every month on the prices of food and non-food products, both for rural and urban areas.