April inflation eases slightly      

Bangladesh’s annual inflation eased marginally in April to 7.46 percent, the Statistics Bureau said on Wednesday, as prices of both food and non-food items rose at a slower pace.

Inflation in March was 7.48 percent, up from February’s 7.44 percent – the first easing in inflation since November as supplies of basic foodstuff were affected by frequent transport blockades and unrest in the run-up to elections in January.

Food prices in April rose 8.95 percent from a year earlier, compared with an 8.96 percent increase in March, the national bureau said.

The non-food inflation rate eased to 5.23 percent from 5.26 percent the previous month.

The government has said it wants to trim inflation to 7 percent in the current fiscal year ending in June.

Bangladesh’s economic growth this financial year, however, is expected to be slower than the 6 percent in 2012/13, after the country was gripped by political turmoil leading up to an election in January.

The central bank has kept its key policy rates unchanged since February last year.

-Business Standard