Inflation in Bangladesh slightly rose to 9.35% in March, after three months of slowing down.
However, the food inflation rate in the country declined to 8.93% in March, which was 9.24% in the previous month, according to data released by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on Tuesday.
General inflation rate was 9.32% in February.
Earlier, inflation in Bangladesh continued its downward trend in February, reaching 9.32%, down from 9.94% in January.
Inflation has been on a low trend since last December. During this time, food inflation decreased, although non-food inflation increased.
The general point-to-point inflation at the national level was 9.67% in February last year.
This is the second time in five months that inflation has fallen to a single-digit level. The last time inflation was below 10% was in September 2024, when it stood at 9.92%. With February's decline, overall inflation has hit a 22-month low.
Food inflation in February cooled down to single digits after 10 months, coming down to 9.24% compared to 10.72% in the previous month – a decline by 2.2 percentage points. From April 2024 to January this year, the country grappled with persistent double-digit food inflation.
Non-food inflation, however, stood at 9.38% in February, slightly higher than 9.32% in January.
Economy on the rise
Bangladesh's economy grew at a faster pace in the second quarter of the current fiscal year as industrial production rebounded, official data showed.
The economy expanded by 4.48% in the October-December period of FY25, up slightly from 4.47% in the same quarter a year ago, according to BBS data published on the day.
The latest figure comes as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised its projection for Bangladesh's gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 4% for the current fiscal year ending in June.
The second-quarter growth was the highest in three quarters, driven by a recovery in manufacturing following disruptions caused by political violence and labour unrest in the July-September period.
Industrial production grew by 7.1% in the October-December quarter, a sharp increase from just 1.04% in the same period of FY24.
In the first quarter of FY25, manufacturing output had grown by 2.44%, when overall GDP growth stood at 1.96%, BBS data showed.
However, the agricultural and service sectors recorded slower year-on-year growth in the second quarter.
Despite the year-on-year slowdown, both sectors posted stronger performances in the second quarter compared to the first quarter of FY25, the BBS added.