Inflation inches up further in Sept

Inflation rate further went up to 5.59% in September owing to rising prices of food and non-food items.

In August, inflation was 5.54%, according to data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

Prices of almost all kinds of daily essentials, such as rice, egg, wheat, garlic, onion, ginger, and turmeric shot up in September, the BBS said.

In September, food inflation increased to 5.21% from 5.16% in August, while non-food inflation climbed to 6.19% from 6.13%.

Zahid Hussain, a former lead economist of the World Bank's Dhaka office, told The Business Standard that the country's economy is now turning around from pandemic-led slowdown, giving a rise to consumer demand, especially for non-food items. 

People, who had been stuck to buying only daily necessary items in the pandemic crisis, are now loosening the purse strings to meet their pent-up needs for other products, as their income is gradually rising with the economy on a recovery track. 

A rise in non-food inflation is a result of the demand hike for non-food products over the last few months, he also said.

The supply chain disruption impacted inflation too, he noted, adding that import costs have increased owing to rising oil and wheat prices globally, which affected the country's domestic market. 

"In this situation, we cannot say inflation will come under control in a short time because the full impact of the international market has not been felt in the domestic market yet. It will be difficult to control inflation in the next six to seven months," Zahid Hussain said.

According to the BBS, the inflation rate increased in urban and rural areas too.

The inflation rate in urban areas increased to 5.25% in September from 5.22% in August, while inflation in rural areas stood at 5.77% in September, up from 5.71% in August.