Inflation drops by 6% in 9 months: BB governor

Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur on Thursday said that the country’s inflation rate has dropped significantly—from 14.5 percent to 8.5 percent—over the past nine months.

The Governor made the remarks while speaking as the chief guest at the opening ceremony of the Banker SME Women Entrepreneurs' Gathering, Product Exhibition and Fair, held at the Bangla Academy premises in the capital, reports UNB.

He expressed optimism that inflation could fall further by 4 to 5 percentage points if the government maintains consistent efforts and stable policies.

The SME and Special Programmes Department of Bangladesh Bank organised the event.

According to the latest estimates from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), overall inflation stood at 9.17 percent in April, down from 9.35 percent in March. Both food and non-food inflation declined last month. However, the average annual inflation remains above 10 percent.

Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor Nurun Nahar, Executive Director Md Khasru Parvez, City Bank MD and CEO Masrur Arefin, and Naushad Mostafa, Director of the SME and Special Programs Department, also spoke at the event.

“If we keep printing money and expect inflation to drop, that won’t work. We need to adopt a strict stance. Inflation will take time to ease, but it is on the right track and will continue to decline gradually.” Governor Mansur said.

Referring to the current figures, he said, “Food inflation was at 14.5 percent, which has now come down to 8.5 percent. Non-food inflation, which was over 12.5 percent, is now slightly above 9 percent.”