DHAKA, July 6, 2020 (BSS) – The general point-to-point inflation rate slightly increased to 6.02 percentage point in June from 5.35 percentage point in the previous month due to rise in food inflation.
“The inflation rate went up to 6.02 percentage point in June last, which is 0.67 percentage point higher than that in May 2020,” said Planning Minister MA Mannan at a virtual press briefing after the day’s Ecnec meeting.
“It seems to us that the prices of food items increased as the sudden flood damaged many crops, vegetables and fishes… Besides, the prices of food iteams usually go high during the rainy season as it damages roads. After the flood, the inflation will become normal again,” he said.
The annual average inflation rate was 5.65 percent in the last fiscal year (2019-20), Mannan added.
According to the monthly consumer price index provided by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) for the media after the briefing, the food inflation rose to 6.54 percent in June from 5.09 percent in May, but the non-food inflation rate declined at 5.22 percent last month from 5.75 percent in May.
The BBS data also showed that the prices of rice, egg, broiler chicken, vegetables and spices increased in June 2020.
In the rural areas, the general inflation rate slightly went up to 6.02 percent in the last month from 5.65 percent in May.
On the other hand, the general inflation rate increased to 6.03 percent in June from 4.81 percent in the previous month in the urban areas.
The point-to-point national wage index witnessed a slight upward trend with 5.90 percent in June against 5.89 percent in May 2020.