Finance
Inflation | GDP Inflation increased in January, GDP growth slowed
Dhaka, February 19: According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) consumer price index data, it rose to 9.86 percent in January from 9.41 percent in December.
According to the latest report by BBS, Bangladesh's gross domestic product (GDP) fell to 5.78 percent in the last financial year, which is the lowest growth in the last 13 years.
Economists say the country is experiencing high inflation for more than a year. The inflation percentage given for January 2024 is essentially compared to January 2023.
Accordingly, with high inflation in January last year, inflationary pressure has increased in January this year.
Inflation in January
Overall inflation stood at 9.41 percent in December, the lowest in eight months. But it increased again in January.
According to the latest BBS data, food inflation eased slightly in January but non-food inflation increased.
Non-food inflation rose to 9.42 percent from 8.52 percent in the previous month.
On the other hand, food inflation has come down to 9.56 percent, which was 9.58 percent in December.
Data shows that inflation has increased in both rural and urban areas.
Inflation in the city rose to 9.99 percent in January. In the previous month, this rate was 9.15 percent.
Rural inflation rose to 9.70 percent in January from 9.49 percent in December.
According to the BBS, two consumer baskets are used to calculate the CPI: (1) the urban basket and (2) the rural basket.
These basket items (goods and services) were determined on the basis of HIES 2016-17 for personal consumption of the population.
BBS collects price data from 154 markets across the country, including 12 in Dhaka city, 4 in Chittagong, 18 in other 6 divisional cities, and 56 in remaining 56 districts and rural areas.
GDP growth in FY23
GDP growth in FY23 was the slowest since 2011-12 due to the severe impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the lowest rate recorded at 3.42% in 2019-20.
However, a provisional estimate released in May last year showed that the economy expanded by 6.03% in 2022-23, down from 7.1% in 2021-22.
Compared to the provisional numbers, growth in the agriculture and industrial sectors increased in the final estimates in FY23, while it declined in the services sector.
The data shows that services sector growth has declined by 47 basis points to 5.37% in FY 2023-23 compared to the interim estimate. It was 6.26% in FY 2021-22.
Agriculture GDP increased by 76 basis points to 3.37%.
In FY23, the GDP of the industrial sector increased by 19 basis points to 8.37%. Which was 9.86% in the final estimate a year ago.
The World Bank has predicted that the GDP growth of Bangladesh will decrease in the financial year 2019-20. They said that the economic growth of Bangladesh may be 5.6% in the current financial year.
However, the government has set a GDP growth target of 7.50% in 2021-22. The GDP growth target remained the same in the last financial year as well.
