Bangladesh's inflation in 2005-06 records highest in 8 years

Inflation in Bangladesh recorded a new high of 7.17 percent in the fiscal year 2005-06 ended in June, despite strict monetary policy adopted by the central bank of Bangladesh, according to Bangladesh Statistical Bureau (BSB).

The bureau said Sunday said the strategy of Bangladesh Bank, the central bank, of limiting internal loan supply and discouraging imports did not work well to keep the inflation rate lower during the 2005-06 fiscal year.

The BSB said the rate of inflation in the countryside during the last fiscal stood at 7.36 percent, which was 6.62 percent in June last year, suggesting that prices of food items and others rose. Prices of commodities rose following oil price hike in the world market, the BSB said.

According to figures supplied by the BSB, the inflation reached the highest 8.66 percent in fiscal 1997-98, but it started to come down from the following year.

The inflation in fiscal 1998-99 was 7.06 percent, but after that the inflation started to rise and reached at 7.17 percent in last fiscal.

Source: Xinhua