Inflation in December of this fiscal dropped to 5.83 per cent, month on month, by official count although the cost of living climbed as per an independent survey.
Meanwhile, the rate of point-to-point inflation has also been on a downturn over the last few months of the fiscal year, recorded below 6.0 per cent, despite a rising trend in the cost of daily living.
The Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Tuesday said the cost of living (CoL) in the capital city, Dhaka, rose by 8.44 per cent in the just-past year, 2017, because of a spike in prices of rice and vegetables, house rents, electricity, gas as well as other services.
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data, unveiled Tuesday, showed the point-to-point inflation slightly down by 0.08 percentage points last month compared to 5.91 per cent recorded in November.
The inflation rate in December of the current financial year (FY), 2017-18, however, increased by 0.80 percentage points compared to the same month of FY2017.
According to the official statistical agency's data, the point-to-point inflation in December of the FY2017 was lower at 5.03 per cent.
Emerging from the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) meeting Tuesday, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal unveiled the quarterly data on the inflation.
He told reporters that inflation in the second quarter (October-December) of the current FY 2018 was recorded 5.93 per cent, slightly up from that of the previous quarter (July-September).
During the July-September period, or the first quarter of this fiscal, inflation was recorded at 5.86 per cent.
The minister didn't disclose the data on food-and non-food inflation in the press briefing.
He said, "Inflation fell slightly in the second quarter (Oct-Dec) this fiscal as prices of pulses, eggs, fishes and vegetables decreased."
On the other hand, the minister added, costs on account of dresses, fuel and light, medical services, furniture and home appliances, transport, educational goods etc increased in the last quarter.
Meanwhile, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) climbed by 0.07 to 245.03 in December this FY2018 from 244.85 in the previous month, November, the BBS data showed.
According to the BBS, the point-to-point inflation in both urban and rural areas of Bangladesh also dropped in the past month of December compared to that in the previous month. The inflation in rural areas decreased to 5.84 per cent in December from 5.93 per cent in November of the current fiscal year.
In the urban areas inflation was recorded to have fallen to 5.82 per cent last month from 5.89 per cent in the previous month, November.
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