Inflation rises to 8.34% in September

Bangladesh's national inflation rate edged up to 8.34% in September, reversing a two-month downward trend, while wage growth decelerated further, intensifying the squeeze on the purchasing power of low- and fixed-income households.

The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) published the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Wage Rate Index (WRI) data on Wednesday. According to the figures, headline inflation rose from 8.26% in August to 8.34% in September, while food inflation climbed more steeply from 7.02% to 7.22%. Non-food inflation, by contrast, eased marginally from 9.32% to 9.30%. Rural inflation increased from 8.31% to 8.38%, whereas urban inflation rose from 8.20% to 8.26%.

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Meanwhile, wage growth slowed from 8.05% in August to 7.90% in September, leaving it 0.44 percentage points below inflation. Wage growth fell across agriculture, industry and services alike, indicating sustained pressure on household budgets. Furthermore, fuel prices were raised by Tk20 per litre for diesel, kerosene, petrol and octane from September 21, which could add to transport, production and supply costs in the coming months. The BBS said the data were compiled from 143 markets across all 64 districts.