Inflation will fall by end of current fiscal year: finance minister
Finance Minister Abul Hasan Mahmood Ali today expressed hope that the inflation will come down to a bearable level by the end of the current financial year.
The minister expressed this hope while presenting the budget implementation progress report for the first quarter (July-September) of the fiscal year 2023-2024 in the parliament.
By the end of the current financial year, the expatriate income will also increase and foreign exchange reserves will quickly return to their original state, the finance minister said.
The minister said the country is experiencing significant inflationary pressure due to the increase in the prices of various daily necessities, including energy, in the international market and the rapid change in foreign exchange rates.
However, the current inflationary pressure is expected to come down to a bearable level by the end of the current fiscal year, he said.
The minister said the government has taken various initiatives to control inflation.
"In order to take more effective measures, Bangladesh Bank is moving forward to implement interest rate target-based monetary policy ... Policy interest rates have been hiked several times and loan interest caps have been lifted."
The finance minister said the current account balance was positive at the end of the first quarter (July-September) of the current financial year due to increase in exports, decrease in import costs and increase in repatriation income.
However, he said, due to negative growth in the financial account, foreign exchange reserves have decreased as compared to June 30, 2023.
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