Inflation quickens to 5.32pc in Feb
General inflation accelerated to 5.32 % in February, fueled by a rise in both food and non-food items, in line with the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
Last month's Consumer Price Index (CPI) was up 30 basis points from 5.02 per cent in January since it broke three months' declining streak.
Food inflation increased 19 basis points to 5.42 per cent as a result of the rise in the cost of rice, edible oil, sugar, and broiler chickens.
The prices of edible oil soared in recent months, prompting the government to fix its price on February 17 so that you can tame the volatility in the domestic market and curb price manipulation by a portion of unscrupulous traders.
The cost of potato, onions, eggplants, bottle gourd, cauliflower, cabbage, beans, radish, tomato, and carrot fell in February in comparison to a month ago, the BBS said in a news release.
Non-food inflation advanced 48 basis points to 5.17 per cent.
Inflation in rural areas went up by 33 basis points to 5 %, stoked by a sharp increase in non-food inflation, which stood at 4.61 per cent in February in comparison to 4.15 per cent in January.
Food inflation risen to 5.72 %, up 26 basis points from January's 5.46 per cent.
In urban areas, general inflation was 5.30 per cent, an increase by 25 basis points. Food inflation ticked up to 4.76 % from 4.72 %.
Non-food inflation in the urban centres saw a hike by 51 basis points to 5.92 per cent last month.
The central bank has already warned that inflation might see some pressure in the coming months as a result of an over-all price rise globally. It analysed the commodity and food price indexes of the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organisation
On February 2, the Bangladesh Bank said global inflation might rise soon. Consequently, inflation may face some pressure in near future.
The World Bank said commodity prices continued to surge in February, with energy commodities jumping 14.3 per cent and non-energy commodities rising 2.5 per cent.
The Bangladesh Bank has set a 5.4 per cent inflation target in the current fiscal year.
