July inflation 'down at 5.21%'

Inflation has come down in the first month of the new fiscal as prices of food fell, according to a new benchmark set by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

According to the latest figures released by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) taking 2005-06 fiscal as the base year, inflation in July was 5.21 percent.

But the inflation was at 8.03 percent in July as per the previous yardsick with 1995-96 fiscal counted as the base year. The inflation was 8.56 percent in June and 10.64 percent on average in the last fiscal, according to that previous standard.

BBS Director General Golam Mostafa Kamal disclosed the latest inflation rate at a press conference at their headquarters at Agargaon on Sunday.

According to him, food inflation stood at 6.30 percent and inflation in sectors other than food was 11.54 percent during the last fiscal, as per the previous benchmark.

On the other hand, food inflation was 2.23 percent and inflation in non-food sectors was 9.94 percent in the last fiscal based on new count.