Inflation drops to 8.71 percent in March

Headline inflation in Bangladesh declined to 8.71 percent in March 2026 on a point-to-point basis, down from 9.13 percent in February, according to the latest data released by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on Sunday, April 5. In March 2025, the inflation rate was 9.35 percent.

The BBS said the decline in inflation was primarily driven by a reduction in food prices. Food inflation fell to 8.24 percent in March from 9.30 percent in February. Food inflation in March 2025 was 8.93 percent.

Non-food inflation, however, rose slightly to 9.09 percent in March from 9.01 percent in February. In March 2025, non-food inflation stood at 9.70 percent.

Both rural and urban areas saw some relief in inflation. Rural headline inflation dropped to 8.72 percent in March from 9.21 percent in February. Rural food inflation fell to 8.02 percent from 9.07 percent, though rural non-food inflation rose slightly to 9.38 percent.

Urban headline inflation declined to 8.68 percent in March from 9.07 percent in February. Urban food inflation fell to 8.78 percent from 9.87 percent, while urban non-food inflation rose slightly to 8.62 percent.

The wage growth rate for low-income skilled and unskilled workers rose marginally to 8.09 percent in March from 8.06 percent in February. However, with inflation still outpacing wage growth, real income for workers has not fully recovered. Real income has been declining for 50 consecutive months since February 2022.

In July 2024, inflation peaked at 11.66 percent while wage growth stood at 7.93 percent, creating a gap of 3.73 percentage points. This gap has now narrowed to 0.62 percentage points.