Bangladesh’s inflation rate rose to 8.34 percent in September, driven mainly by a sharp increase in food prices, according to data released by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on Wednesday.
The general inflation rate was 8.26 percent in August, meaning prices rose by 0.08 percentage point in September.
Food inflation increased more sharply, climbing to 7.22 percent in September from 7.02 percent a month earlier.
Non-food inflation, however, edged down to 9.30 percent from 9.32 percent in August. It was 8.98 percent in September last year.
The latest figures indicate that inflationary pressure remains persistent, particularly from food prices, despite a slight easing in non-food inflation.
In rural areas, inflation rose to 8.38 percent in September from 8.31 percent in August. Rural food inflation increased to 7.18 percent from 7.01 percent, while non-food inflation eased marginally to 9.57 percent from 9.59 percent.
Urban inflation also increased, reaching 8.26 percent in September from 8.20 percent in August. Urban food inflation rose to 7.25 percent from 7.04 percent, while non-food inflation fell slightly to 8.94 percent from 8.97 percent.
Meanwhile, the growth in workers’ wages slowed further in September, suggesting continued pressure on household purchasing power.
The national wage rate growth stood at 7.90 percent, down from 8.05 percent in August.
Wage growth in agriculture declined to 7.89 percent from 8.07 percent, while industrial wage growth fell to 7.86 percent from 7.97 percent.
The services sector recorded wage growth of 8.07 percent in September, down from 8.25 percent in August.
The figures show that wage growth remained below the inflation rate in September, indicating continued pressure on real earnings.