The overall rate of inflation remained almost unchanged as it persisted over 9 per cent in March, while the gross domestic product growth bounced back in the second quarter of the current financial year of 2024–25.Â
The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics in its update on quarterly GDP released on Tuesday said that the industrial output helped the country achieve 4.48 per cent growth rate in the October-December period of the current fiscal year, which was almost equal at 4.47 per cent in the same period of the previous financial year of 2023–24.
The manufacturing sector growth rate was 7.1 per cent during the second quarter of the current financial year, which was merely 1.04 per cent during the same quarter in the previous financial year.
The GDP growth rate in the second quarter of FY2024–25 is the strongest among the three quarters.
The GDP growth rate slowed down at 1.96 per cent in the first quarter of the FY2024–25, mainly due to disruptions in economic activities amid the July-August mass uprising that ousted the Awami League regime.
Despite the GDP growth rate bounced back in the second quarter of the current financial year, the statistical bureau recorded slowed-down growth rates in the agriculture and service sectors in the period.
The agriculture sector growth rate slowed down to 1.25 per cent in the second quarter of FY2024–25, which was 4.09 per cent in the corresponding period of the FY2023–24.
Similarly, the service sector growth rate slowed down to 3.78 per cent in the second quarter of FY2024–25, which was 7.10 per cent during the same quarter of the previous financial year.
The statistical bureau on the same day updated the Consumer Price Index. Â
The update showed the overall inflation at 9.35 per cent in March, compared with 9.32 per cent in February.
The overall inflation remained high despite a downward trend of the food inflation.
The BBS in its update released on Tuesday said that the food inflation rate eased to 8.93 per cent in March from 9.24 per cent in February.
The bureau found that the non-food inflation rate was moving upward slightly to 9.7 per cent in March compared with 9.38 per cent in February.
