Inflation slightly drops to 9.63pc in September

Business Report :
Bangladesh experienced a slight improvement in inflation levels in September, as it fell to 9.63%, down from a staggering 9.92% the previous month.

The September data also signaled some relief for consumers, with food inflation falling to 12.37% from 12.54% in August, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics data released on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, non-food inflation eased to 7.82% from 7.95% in September.

Since last March, inflation has consistently remained above 9%, significantly affecting the cost of living, particularly for the low-income groups.

Earlier in August, Bangladesh recorded a staggering 12.54% food inflation, the highest in 13 years.

Apart from the improvement in inflation, the country also experienced an increase in wage rate up from 7.58% to 7.64% in September.

Economists attributed the persistently high inflation to internal factors, describing it as largely man-made.

These factors include availability of cheap credit, market manipulation by vested interest groups, weak monitoring mechanisms, deteriorating macroeconomic fundamentals, and issues within the banking sector and money market.