Inflation to normalise by June: Finance minister

The country's inflation rate will come down to a tolerable level at the end of the current financial year, said Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal but feared that the red-hot global inflation fuelled by the Ukraine war could have some effect on Bangladesh.

"The government is seriously considering keeping inflation at a tolerable level," he said while presenting a report on the "Budget 2021-22: Implementation Progress and Income-Expenditure Trends and Macroeconomic Analysis in the July-December period" in parliament on Monday.

General inflation rose to 6.05% in the first half of this fiscal year from 5.36% in July 2021 and 5.55% in December 2020, he added.

The finance minister said the overall inflation is increasing owing to a surge in food and fuel prices in the international market.

He said the collection of income tax and value-added tax is increasing, which is very promising. The revenue collection will further increase towards the end of the financial year, he added.

Mustafa Kamal said Bangladesh has bounced back to the development highway after shaking off the negative impacts of local and global lockdowns.

"The government is working to achieve inclusive growth by maintaining overall macroeconomic stability, including inflation and the exchange rate," he said.

As a result of the expansionary and contractionary monetary policies in line with the expansionary revenue policy of the government, he said, a lot of dynamism is returning to the country's economic activities.

Imports, exports, remittances and domestic production are on the rise, Mustafa Kamal added.