Inflation rises slightly to 5.57pc in Oct
STAFF REPORTER
The countrys general point-to-point inflation rate slightly increased to 5.57 percentage point in October, up from 5.53 percentage point in September due to uptrend of food inflation.
The general point-to-point inflation rate increased slightly to 5.57 percentage point in October, said Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal yesterday, while releasing the monthly consumer price index (CPI) after the ECNEC meeting yesterday.
General point-to-point inflation rate which is the percentage change in the CPI during the last 12 months, in September was 5.53 per cent, in August was 5.37 per cent, in July was 5.40 per cent, in May was 5.45 per cent, in April was 5.61 per cent, 5.65 per cent in March and 5.62 per cent in February.
According to data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), point-to-point food inflation increased to 5.56 percentage point in October from 5.10 percentage point in September.
The planning minister said the inflation rate in the previous month increased a bit due to the slight rise of food inflation mainly in rice, vegetables, salt, oil, sugar, and milk. He, however, said the point to point food inflation in October last year was a bit higher with 6.19 per cent.
According to the BBS, the average general point to point inflation rate in the last fiscal year was 5.92 per cent, which was 6.41 per cent in fiscal year 2014-15, 7.35 per cent in fiscal year 2013-14, 6.78 per cent in fiscal year 2012-13.
The BBS data showed that the point to point non-food inflation rate, however, slightly declined to 5.58 per cent in October 2016 down from 6.19 per cent in September, 2016.
Besides, the general inflation rate at the urban level in October declined to 6.87 per cent while it was 4.87 per cent at the rural level.
At the rural level, the food inflation increased to 4.89 per cent in October, up from 4.27 percent in the previous month, while the non-food inflation declined to 4.83 per cent in October as against 5.31 per cent in September this year.
In urban areas, the food inflation also increased to 7.09 per cent in October, up from 7.03 per cent in September. The non-food inflation rate, however, witnessed declining trend with 6.63 per cent in October which was 7.42 per cent in September this year.
The point to point national wage index witnessed an increasing trend with 6.16 per cent in October up from 6.09 per cent in September.
The average year- to-year rate of inflation from November 2015 to October 2016 also declined to 5.66 per cent, which was 6.21 per cent from November 2014 to October 2015.
