Bangladesh Bank today raised its key interest rate, also known as the policy rate, by 50 basis points to 5.50 per cent, a move that would make funds costlier for banks.

The central bank of Bangladesh will have to use the monetary policy to stabilise the foreign exchange market to pave the way for curbing inflation through demand management, said Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh.

How do you control inflation in a market economy?

High inflation in Bangladesh has revealed the inherent weakness in the government’s domestic resource mobilisation approach, which is largely dependent on revenue collection from indirect taxes, said the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) today.

Inflation shot up to 6.29 percent in April – highest in 18 months – amid persistently high food prices and non-food prices, said Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) last evening (May 18, 2022).

When it comes to human development related expenses, the government should spend more.

Inflation in Bangladesh rocketed to a 17-month high in March driven by higher food costs as global uncertainties stemming from the Russia-Ukraine war and supply chain disruptions show no sign of abating, official figures showed yesterday.