Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)-Bangladesh’s Finance Minister AMA Muhith has expressed his hope that overall inflation will come down to 5.8 percent in the next fiscal.
While making the projection, Muhith highlighted some circumstances which impact the inflation.
Muhith highlighted that declining trend in international oil prices, buoyant local food production, prospects of persistent agricultural growth and improvement in domestic distribution system will help contain food inflation at a tolerable level.
“There is a likelihood that prices of commodities including oil in international market will continue to decline in the coming year also. Meanwhile, we have slightly slashed down prices of fuel for the domestic market, which is expected to reduce non-food inflation. Further downward adjustment of fuel prices is likely to continue,” said Finance Minister Muhith while unveiling Bangladesh’s national budget for fiscal 2016-17.
“Side by side, prospects of persistent agricultural growth and improvement in domestic distribution system will help contain food inflation at a tolerable level,” he added.
“In addition, in terms of macroeconomic management, we will ensure continued harmonization of fiscal and monetary policies. In this context, I have set inflation target at 5.8 percent for the next the fiscal year,” the finance minister said.
The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data has showed the country’s point-to-point inflation has been fallen to 5.61 percent in April this year.
Meanwhile, the government in the outgoing FY2016 set a target to bring the inflation within a 6.2 percent limit from its higher trend in the previous fiscals.
BBN/ANS/AK/AD