Inflation hits 10-year low in May

Bangladesh witnessed the lowest inflationary pressure in 10 years in May. The point-to-point inflation came down to 5.45 per cent, mainly due to slight decreases in both food and non-food inflation.
"The general point-to-point inflation rate eased further to 5.45 percentage point in May, which is possibly the lowest figure in the last 10 years," said planning minister AHM Mustafa Kamal yesterday (Monday).
He was releasing the monthly consumer price index (CPI) at a meet-the-press at the NEC conference room.
The general point-to-point inflation, which is the percentage change in the CPI during the last 12 months, was 5.61 in April, 5.65 in March and 5.62 in February. February's figure was the lowest in 41 months.
According to data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the point-to-point food inflation, which tends to be more important in developing countries like Bangladesh where a large amount of household incomes is spent on food, declined to 3.81 percentage points in May, from 3.84 in April. The BBS data showed that the non-food inflation rate also declined slightly to 7.92 per cent in May, down from 8.34 in April.
The planning minister said the inflation rate slightly decreased due to the declining price trend of both food and non-food items in the global market, and it was buttressed by adequate supplies of both food and non-food items in the domestic market.  "There has been good production of food grains and crops, good vegetable production, good supply chain, stable exchange rate and declining trend of oil price," he said, clearly pleased knowing that keeping prices in check is always a vital issue for governments in Bangladesh.
Mustafa Kamal said since the target of containing inflation in the outgoing fiscal year was 6.2 per cent, not only would the target be met but it would also not go beyond 6 per cent this year, in line with the projection of the first year of the Seventh Five Year Plan.  
 He, however, did forecast a slight nudge upwards in the headline rate in June because of the holy month of Ramadan that leads to the Eid festival.
The data, however, does reveal some discrepancies between rural and urban areas. While the general rate in urban areas declined to 7.06 percentage points in May, it stood at 4.59 per cent at the rural level, another slight tick downwards.
 The national wage index (NWI) witnessed growth at 6.07 per cent in May, going up to 135.39 points. The NWI must be higher than the inflation rate to deliver any increase in real incomes for wage-earners.
The average inflation, which differs from the headline rate in that it is a 12-month moving average, also declined to 5.97 per cent in May. In May 2015, the corresponding rate was 6.4 per cent.

Inflation hits 10-year low in May

Bangladesh witnessed the lowest inflationary pressure in 10 years in May. The point-to-point inflation came down to 5.45 per cent, mainly due to slight decreases in both food and non-food inflation. The general point-to-point inflation rate eased further to 5.45 percentage point in May, which is possibly the lowest figure in the last 10 years, said planning minister AHM Mustafa Kamal yesterday (Monday). He was releasing the monthly consumer price index (CPI) at a meet-the-press at the NEC conference room. The general point-to-point inflation, which is the percentage change in the CPI during the last 12 months, was 5.61 in April, 5.65 in March and 5.62 in February. Februarys figure was the lowest in 41 months. According to data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the point-to-point food inflation, which tends to be more important in developing countries like Bangladesh where a large amount of household incomes is spent on food, declined to 3.81 percentage points in May, from 3.84 in April. The BBS data showed that the non-food inflation rate also declined slightly to 7.92 per cent in May, down from 8.34 in April. The planning minister said the inflation rate slightly decreased due to the declining price trend of both food and non-food items in the global market, and it was buttressed by adequate supplies of both food and non-food items in the domestic market. There has been good production of food grains and crops, good vegetable production, good supply chain, stable exchange rate and declining trend of oil price, he said, clearly pleased knowing that keeping prices in check is always a vital issue for governments in Bangladesh. Mustafa Kamal said since the target of containing inflation in the outgoing fiscal year was 6.2 per cent, not only would the target be met but it would also not go beyond 6 per cent this year, in line with the projection of the first year of the Seventh Five Year Plan. He, however, did forecast a slight nudge upwards in the headline rate in June because of the holy month of Ramadan that leads to the Eid festival. The data, however, does reveal some discrepancies between rural and urban areas. While the general rate in urban areas declined to 7.06 percentage points in May, it stood at 4.59 per cent at the rural level, another slight tick downwards. The national wage index (NWI) witnessed growth at 6.07 per cent in May, going up to 135.39 points. The NWI must be higher than the inflation rate to deliver any increase in real incomes for wage-earners. The average inflation, which differs from the headline rate in that it is a 12-month moving average, also declined to 5.97 per cent in May. In May 2015, the corresponding rate was 6.4 per cent.