Inflation ticks up in April

Inflation went up for the third consecutive month in April owing to the rise in the prices of major food items such as rice, wheat, lentil, and sugar.

General inflation rose to 5.56 per cent last month, up nine basis points from 5.47 per cent the previous month, according to data of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) released yesterday.

Food inflation increased to 5.57 per cent from 5.51 per cent, and no-food inflation advanced to 5.55 per cent from 5.39 per cent.

For the computation of the Consumer Price Index, two consumer baskets are used: urban basket and rural basket.

In the urban consumer basket, the prices of 422 commodities are included. For the rural basket, the prices of 318 food and non-food items are taken into account.

The BBS collects the price data from 140 main markets: 64 from urban, 64 from rural, and 12 from Dhaka city corporations.

In the rural areas, inflation was up 11 basis points at 5.66 per cent in April compared to a month earlier. 

Food inflation went up by five basis points to 5.88 per cent in April from 5.83 per cent in March. Non-food inflation rose by 22 basis points to 5.25 per cent.

In the urban areas, inflation ticked up by eight basis points to 5.39 per cent. Food inflation was up seven basis points at 4.87 per cent, and non-food inflation rose by nine basis points to 5.96 per cent, BBS data showed.

Food and non-food inflation increased in April as consumption rose during Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr.

The prices of two rice varieties, lentil, wheat, sugar, and edible oil rose in April, BBS data showed.

The government has targeted a 5.5 per cent inflation rate this fiscal year. It was able to contain it at 5.48 per cent last fiscal year.