Inflation rises to 8.78% in Feb

The general point-to-point inflation rate has increased by 0.21 percentage point to 8.78 per cent in February this year, compared to this January.

In 2022, the inflation rate was 8.57 per cent in January and 8.71 per cent in December, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Inflation Rate and Wage Rate Index (WRI) in Bangladesh.

According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data revealed on Sunday, food inflation was 8.13 per cent, while non-food inflation was 9.82 per cent in February 2023. Food inflation was 7.76 per cent while non-food inflation was 9.84 per cent in January this year.

The BBS inflation data however did not fully reflect the ongoing situation in kitchen markets. Essential commodity prices are still soaring across the country.

After a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Sunday, State Minister for Planning Prof Shamsul Alam told reporters, “Bangladesh’s inflation rate has increased, but the wage index rate too is going up in the country.”

The country’s wage index rate stood at 7.11 per cent in February 2023, an increase from 7.06 per cent posted in January this year.

In September 2022, the inflation rate was 9.10 per cent, compared to 9.52 per cent in August – which remains the country’s highest in 11 years, show the BBS data. According to the budget for FY23, Bangladesh had set the inflation target at 5.6 per cent for this fiscal year.

The inflation in rural areas rose at a higher rate than that of the urban areas this February.