Inflation drops in Nov on winter vegetable supply

The point-to-point inflation went down by 14 percentage points to 6.05 per cent in November from 6.19 per cent in the previous month mainly because of increase in supply of winter vegetables and price fall of food items including rice.
Overall food and non-food inflation also decreased in the month from that of October due to lower prices of consumer products and fuel oil on the international market, according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
Food inflation and non-food inflation dropped to 5.72 per cent and 6.56 per cent respectively in November from that of 5.89 per cent and 6.67 per cent respectively a month ago, the data released on Wednesday showed.
‘Overall inflation has been gradually declining since October because of ample supply of winter vegetables and lower prices of those items on the local kitchen markets,’ planning minister AHM Mustafa Kamal told reporters at a press briefing organised to release the inflation data at NEC auditorium in the capital Dhaka.
Usually, inflation remains in downward trend in the season, he said.
In November, point-to-point inflation stood at the lowest rate from that of previous months in the current financial year 2015-2016, he said.
The point-to-point inflation was 6.36 per cent, 6.17 per cent and 6.24 per cent respectively in July, August and September.
Overall inflation in September increased to 6.24 per cent from 6.17 per cent in August due mainly to price hike of gas and electricity, and an extra expenditure by consumers on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha.
The point-to-point inflation in November last year was 6.21 per cent.
Officials of the BBS said that the lower prices of consumer products and fuel oil on the international market also had an effect on inflation in the country.
According to the BBS report, the monthly food inflation declined by 0.35 percentage points in November compared with that of October because of price fall of rice, pulse, vegetables, spices and edible oil on the domestic market.
On the other hand, the monthly non-food inflation increased by 0.26 percentage points in the month compared with that of October because of an increase in the cost for electricity, clothes, house rent, furniture and household items, treatment, transport and education materials, the report said.
According to the BBS data, the overall inflation — food and non-food — also declined in both rural and urban areas in the month.
In November, point-to-point inflation in both urban and rural areas stood at 6.88 per cent and 5.61 per cent respectively from 6.91 per cent and 5.82 per cent respectively in the previous month.
The average annual inflation from December 2014 to November 2015 stood at 6.20 per cent which was 7.09 per cent in the previous span of time from December 2013 to November 2014, the data showed.
The government set the target of containing inflation at 6.2 per cent for the current fiscal year.

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