January inflation drops to 8.57pc: BBS

The general inflation in Bangladesh dropped by 14 percentage points to 8.57 percent in the first month of 2023, according to the latest release of ‘Price and Wage Statistics’ published by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

In December, the inflation rate was 8.71 percent, which was also 14 percentage points decreased from November’s 8.85 percent.

However, the inflation rate jumped by 2.71 percentage points in just a year as the rate was 5.86 percent in January 2022.

The general inflation rate surged to a decade high at 9.52 percent in August last year. However, the rate has been on a downward trajectory since then.

Meanwhile, the food price index dropped to 7.76 percent in January from 7.91 percent in December.

The price index for non-food items also dropped. It decreased to 9.84 percent in January from 9.96 percent the previous month.

On the other hand, the three price indices also dropped in both rural and urban parts of the country in January, according to BBS.

The general inflation rate in rural areas dropped to 8.67 percent from 8.86 percent, the price index for food items to 7.92 percent from 8.11 percent, the price index of non-food items to 10.12 percent from 10.29 percent.

In urban areas, the general inflation dropped to 8.39 percent in January from 8.43 percent in December, the price index for food items to 7.41 percent from 7.45 percent, the price index for non-food items to 9.48 percent from 9.51 percent.