Higher costs of both the food and non-food items due to supply chain disruption pushed up inflation marginally in last month, ending its falling streak over the last six consecutive months, reveals official data.
According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, inflation rose slightly to 6.14% in February, which was 6.04% in January and highest since November last.
Analysts observed that uneven food and non-food prices in rural and urban areas caused due to the supply chain disruption, which has led to increase the inflation but it was not a matter of concern as yet.
“Slight rise in the inflation is not surprising but it (inflation) did not go up much high that could be a matter on concern,” said Mirza Azizul Islam, former finance adviser Mirza Azizul Islam.
The main driving force of the surge in inflation was uneven prices in different areas hit by the political violence, he said.
He, however, said, “Although this is not a matter of concern for us till now, if this trend continued, I think at the end of the fiscal year, the inflation will be ended up around 6%.”
The country has been suffering from the renewed political unrest since January 5 this year centering the national polls.
Overall food inflation stood at 6.11% in February from 6.07% in January, according the BBS data. During the period, non-food inflation was also up 6.20% from 6.01%.
In urban area, inflation rate in February was 6.62%, which was 6.48% in January and in rural area, it rose to 5.89% from 5.81% during the period.
During the same period, in urban area, food inflation surged 7.02% from 6.69% but in rural areas, it dropped 5.72% from 5.79%.
“Higher food inflation in urban area and lower food inflation in rural areas clearly indicates the supply chain disruption of goods,” said Islam.
According to the monetary policy statement released in January, progress in bringing annual average CPI inflation down from 7.35% at the beginning of fiscal year 2015 to 6.5% by June 2015 is broadly satisfactory, with 6.99% level by close of the first half of fiscal year 2015.
The fiscal inflation target announced in the budget is 6.5%.