Point-to-point inflation eases further in Sept

The point-to-point inflation eased further in the country, falling to 6.84 per cent in September from 6.91 per cent in the previous month, as prices of some essential food and non-food items marked a downturn, officials said Tuesday.
A cooler market situation in the outside world was cited as a major cause of the taming of the inflation, which had climbed over double digit years back.           
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data, released Tuesday in Dhaka, showed that the average inflation in last one year (Oct 2013-Sep 2014) had also fallen to 7.22 per cent from the previous mark of 7.37 per cent.
According to the BBS count, the inflation on point-to-point basis on account of food items was lower at 7.63 percent last month. In the previous month, August, it was 7.67 per cent.
The non-food inflation went down slightly to 5.63 per cent in September. In August, it was recorded 5.76 per cent.
Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal at a press briefing at the Planning Commission Tuesday said, "Since the prices of different food and non-food items on the local and international market were showing lower trend, the inflation fell last month."
The general Consumer Price Index (CPI) on the point-to-point basis in September rose to 205.39 from 202.53 in the previous month, the BBS data showed.
According to the BBS, the point-to-point inflation in the rural areas had also fallen in the last month when it was recorded at 6.75 per cent against 6.83 per cent of August.
In the urban areas also, the inflationary trend last month was lower--recorded at 7.02 per cent against previous month's 7.08 per cent.
Planning Minister Mr Kamal said they are hopeful about keeping the inflationary pressure within the 7.0 percent limit in the current financial year (FY) 2014-15.
In the current FY, the government has targeted to peg the inflation within a limit of 6.5 to 7.0 percent.
Bangladesh was hard hit by the inflationary pressure in 2010-11 when the point-to-point inflation crossed double-digit mark, jumping from a cool 7.54 per cent in November 2010, BBS officials said.
The planning minister also unveiled the point-to-point wage index of the last month, which also got a boost compared to the same month last year 2013.
Quoting the BBS data he said the general wage rate in Bangladesh in September increased to 10.77per cent. In the previous month, August, the wage rate was recorded at 10.62 per cent.

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