Food inflation cooled to some extent amid harvests galore but non-food one recorded a rise in March with the end-result of a bit elevated overall rate in the month, official data showed.
After a straight three months' lower trend, Bangladesh's point-to-point inflation rate last month, however, recorded a bit higher at 9.35 per cent from 9.32 per cent in the previous month February, according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data unveiled Tuesday.
Inflation climbed to a 13-month high at 11.38 per cent in November this fiscal year (FY) 2024-25 but started falling in the subsequent months of December, January and February.
The rate of inflation in December fell to 10.89 per cent, to 9.94 per cent in January and 9.35 per cent in February on the climb-down, the official data showed.
Meanwhile, the March inflation rate was higher due to the higher trend in the non-food items against an easing trend in food inflation.
The rate of non-food inflation increased to 9.70 per cent in the past month of March from 9.38 per cent in the previous month.
On the other hand, the food-inflation rate fell to 8.93 per cent last month from 9.24 per cent in the previous month.
The higher inflationary pressure started biting the middle, lower-middle class and poor people two years ago as their expenditure for buying necessary items was eating up the lions' share of their wags and monthly incomes.
Since December last, the inflationary pressure stared easing and the rate now came down under single-digit.
Following the Russia-Ukraine war and some other internal factors, the inflation suddenly jumped into 9.0-percent territory 19 months ago in August 2022 from the long-maintained 6-7-percent club in the previous period.
Meanwhile, the point-to-point inflation rate in urban areas was recorded at 9.66 per cent last month, a 0.25-percentage-point higher than 9.41 per cent in the rural areas.
The food-inflation rate in villages slowed to 8.81 per cent in March from of 9.15 per cent in the previous month of February.
The rate of non-food inflation in rural areas also increased to 9.97 per cent in last month from 9.85 per cent in the previous month.
In the urban areas, the rate of inflation last month was recorded at 9.66 per cent against 9.34 per cent in the previous month of February. The food inflation in the urban Bangladesh also decreased to 9.18 per cent in March from that of 9.47 per cent in February.
The non-food inflation also increased to 9.95 per cent in the past month from 9.27 per cent in February in the towns, the BBS data showed.
The annual average inflation rate between April 2024 and March 2025 was recorded at 10.26 per cent, 0.04-percentage-point lower than that in the corresponding period.
The BBS has also unveiled the Wage Rate Index (WRI) where it showed wages increased at a rate of 8.15 per cent last month from 8.14 per cent in April last.
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