New Age
Staff Correspondent | Jul 06,2020
The average annual inflation increased by 0.17 percentage points to 5.65 per cent in the just concluded financial year 2019-2020 from that of 5.48 per cent in the previous fiscal year 2018-2019, according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics data.
The average annual inflation was 5.78 per cent in the FY 2017-18.
The average annual food and non-food inflation between July, 2019 and June, 2020 stood at 5.56 per cent and 5.85 per cent respectively.
The point-to-point inflation in June, the last month of FY20, also increased by 0.67 percentage points to 6.02 per cent from 5.35 per cent in May due mainly to the coronavirus outbreak-induced price hike of essential food items, the data showed.
The point-to-point food inflation drastically increased by 1.45 per cent to 6.54 per cent in June from that of 5.09 per cent a month ago.
The non-food inflation, however, declined to 5.22 per cent in the month from 5.75 per cent in May.
Planning minister MA Mannan on Monday released the data at a press briefing held after the weekly ECNEC meeting in the capital.
The rate of average annual inflation remained higher than the government’s target of 5.5 per cent in FY20.
According to the BBS data, the prices of food items like rice, eggs, chicken, vegetables and spices increased in June.
Both the general and food inflation increased in both the urban and rural areas in June from the previous month while the non-food inflation significantly dropped in the month, according to the data.
In June, the general, food and non-food inflation in the urban areas stood at 6.03 per cent, 7.72 per cent and 5.27 per cent respectively, which were 4.81 per cent, 3.94 per cent and 5.79 per cent respectively in the previous month.
The overall, food and non-food inflation in the rural areas stood at 6.02 per cent, 6.47 per cent and 5.18 per cent respectively in June.
In May, the rates of general, food and non-food inflation in the rural areas were 5.65 per cent, 5.61 per cent and 5.73 per cent respectively.
According to the BBS data, the national wage index rate slightly increased to 5.90 per cent in June from 5.89 per cent in May as a result of increasing wages in all three sectors — agriculture, industry and services.
The data showed that the wage index rate for agriculture increased to 6.18 per cent in the month from 6.16 per cent in May.
The wage index rates for industry and services rose to 5.31 per cent and 5.78 per cent respectively in June from 5.29 per cent and 5.75 per cent in May.
Policy Research Institute executive chairman Ahsan H Mansur said that inflation increased in the period due to a price hike of food items, mainly rice, on the market.
Inflation might have remained lower if the prices of rice had remained stable, he said.
He suggested that the government remain cautious about the prices of rice, the main staple, in the time of coronavirus outbreak.
