The State of Bangladesh Prices & Inflation

Executive Summary

Bangladesh confronts crisis-level inflationary pressure with headline CPI at 10.5%, driven by food inflation at 10.0% and a +2.5 percentage point food-nonfood wedge that makes the price burden deeply regressive. Bangladesh Bank's repo rate at 10.00% yields a negative real policy rate of -0.47%, while the taka has depreciated sharply, losing more than 30% of its value since 2022 at Tk 119.50 per dollar. With the IMF All Commodities Index at 218.81, global food commodities at 135.46 (+5.0% YoY), and WTI crude at $99.89/barrel, the convergence of supply-side shocks, exchange rate pass-through, and weak monetary transmission creates an inflation environment that requires both conventional tightening and structural reform of the monetary policy framework.

Inflation Decomposition: Food, Non-Food, and Core

Bangladesh's headline CPI of 10.5% (BBS point-to-point) decomposes into sharply divergent trajectories. Food inflation at 10.0% carries approximately 45.9% weight in the BBS CPI basket, while non-food inflation runs at 7.5%. This +2.5 percentage point food-nonfood wedge is the defining feature of Bangladesh's current price environment.

Core inflation, excluding volatile food and energy components, stands at approximately 8.0%. The elevation of core inflation above 6% suggests that price pressures have become embedded in expectations and wage-setting behavior, making them resistant to monetary policy alone. The decomposition matters critically for policy design: if headline inflation is driven primarily by food supply shocks and energy pass-through, conventional interest rate tightening operates with diminished effectiveness.

The distributional impact of this decomposition is severe. The bottom 40% of households allocate 55-65% of spending to food, meaning their effective inflation rate is approximately 9.0%, significantly above the headline. The top quintile, allocating roughly 25-30% to food, experiences inflation closer to 7.5%. This asymmetry means the CPI systematically understates the inflationary burden on the most vulnerable.

• Headline CPI: 10.5%
• Food CPI: 10.0% (weight: 45.9%)
• Non-food CPI: 7.5%
• Core inflation: 8.0%
• Food-nonfood wedge: +2.5 pp
• Effective inflation (bottom 40%): ~9.0%

BB Monetary Policy and Transmission Channels

Bangladesh Bank has raised the policy repo rate to 10.00%, with the standing deposit facility (reverse repo) at 6.50%, creating an interest rate corridor of 3.50 percentage points. However, the real repo rate at -0.47% is negative, meaning that monetary policy remains effectively accommodative despite multiple rounds of nominal tightening.

Broad money (M2) growth at 6.1% and private sector credit growth at 11.0% provide further evidence of the transmission problem. M2 growth has moderated toward levels more consistent with nominal GDP, though still above what would support rapid disinflation. The disconnect between the policy rate and monetary aggregates reflects several structural weaknesses:

First, the banking sector's high proportion of non-performing loans (9-10% officially, likely higher by market estimates), concentrated in state-owned commercial banks (SOCBs), means that large segments of the banking system are effectively zombified, neither responding to rate signals nor reallocating credit efficiently. Second, directed lending mandates for agriculture and SMEs at below-market rates create pockets of credit insulated from policy rate changes. Third, the large informal economy (estimated at 35-40% of GDP) operates primarily on cash and outside the formal credit system. Fourth, the recent removal of the 9% lending rate cap, while necessary, has left both banks and borrowers adjusting to market-determined rates after years of administered pricing.

The comparison with India's RBI is instructive. India faced similar inflationary pressure in 2022-2023 with CPI touching 7-8%. The RBI responded with 250 basis points of rate hikes, active liquidity management, and a credible 4% inflation target framework adopted in 2016. India's inflation has since moderated to 4-5%. The institutional credibility of a formal targeting framework gave the RBI both mandate and market trust to pursue aggressive disinflation.

Exchange Rate Management and Import Cost Pass-Through

The taka at Tk 119.50 per dollar under the crawling peg mechanism represents BB's shift from a de facto fixed rate toward a more market-determined exchange rate. The cumulative depreciation of approximately 42.3% since 2022 reflects the unwinding of an overvaluation that had been maintained through reserve depletion. Gross reserves at 4.2 months of import cover remain below the IMF's recommended 3-month minimum comfort level for emerging markets, constraining BB's capacity for sustained currency intervention.

The exchange rate is the critical transmission mechanism between global commodity markets and Bangladeshi consumer prices. Bangladesh imports virtually all petroleum products, approximately 2.5 million metric tons of edible oil annually, 60-70% of wheat consumption, and 60-65% of lentil requirements. Every percentage point of depreciation translates directly into higher landed costs for these goods.

WTI crude at $99.89/barrel translates into an estimated annual petroleum import bill of approximately $1.1 billion. The oil-diesel-transport-food transmission chain is the most consequential pass-through mechanism: diesel powers irrigation pumps, fishing trawlers, rice transport from Dinajpur to Dhaka, and industrial production. A 10% increase in diesel prices can translate into a 3-5% increase in farm-gate rice prices before middleman margins are applied.

Pass-through lags differ by channel. Edible oil prices adjust within 2-4 weeks of global price movements, transmitted through fewer than ten firms controlling bulk imports. Wheat and lentil prices exhibit 4-8 week lags, mediated by existing inventory. Diesel pass-through to food prices takes 4-8 weeks via the transport and production chain. Full exchange rate pass-through from a discrete depreciation episode typically takes 6-12 months to work through the price system.

The remittance channel adds complexity. Inward remittances growing at 12.0% inject foreign currency that supports reserves but simultaneously inject taka liquidity into the domestic economy. For recipient households (primarily in rural Sylhet, Chittagong, and Comilla), remittance income increases purchasing power and demand for food and housing, contributing to localized inflationary pressure even as it alleviates household poverty.

Supply-Side Inflation and Food Price Dynamics

The IMF Food Commodity Index at 135.46 (+5.0% YoY) and Energy Index at 242.28 frame the global backdrop. For Bangladesh, the transmission from these global indices to domestic retail prices runs through three channels: direct import costs (edible oil, wheat, lentils, sugar), energy costs (petroleum, LNG, electricity), and indirect production costs (diesel for agriculture and transport).

Rice, the irreducible staple, is largely domestically produced (35-38 million MT annually), but seasonal dynamics create predictable price cycles. The lean period between Aus harvest (August) and Aman harvest (November-December) typically sees 8-15% rice price increases. Climate shocks amplify these cycles: the 2024 monsoon flooding in Sylhet and Mymensingh haor areas destroyed early rice crops and triggered localized price spikes of 20-30%.

Administered price adjustments for electricity, gas, and fuel, driven by IMF program conditions for subsidy rationalization, add step-function increases to non-food CPI. Multiple electricity tariff increases since 2022 have raised household electricity costs by 30-40%. These administered shocks complicate BB's inflation management by adding fiscal-origin price pressures that monetary policy cannot address, creating a coordination problem between fiscal consolidation and monetary tightening.

Inflation Targeting Framework: Credibility Gap

BB's stated inflation target of 5.5% stands +5.0 percentage points below actual headline inflation, a gap that undermines the target's credibility as an expectation anchor. A gap this wide signals that the target functions as an aspiration rather than a binding commitment, reducing its effectiveness in anchoring wage-setting and price-setting behavior. Several institutional gaps prevent BB from operating as a credible inflation-targeting central bank:

BB lacks formal operational independence. The Bangladesh Bank Order of 1972 subordinates monetary policy to government direction, and in practice the Ministry of Finance retains significant influence over interest rate policy, exchange rate management, and credit allocation. Without institutional independence, BB's inflation target is perceived as one objective among several, including growth promotion, exchange rate stability, directed lending, and financial inclusion, diluting the clarity and credibility of the anti-inflation stance.

BB's communication strategy is underdeveloped. The Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) is published semi-annually, far less frequently than the quarterly or 6-weekly communications of peer central banks. Forward guidance is limited, press conferences rare, and inflation forecasting models are not published. Market participants form expectations without the benefit of a transparent central bank reaction function.

Outlook, Risks, and Policy Implications

Three principal risks dominate the inflation outlook:

• Food price volatility and climate shocks: With food carrying 45.9% weight in CPI and Bangladesh structurally dependent on imported edible oil, wheat, and lentils, any global supply shock or domestic climate event would reignite food inflation. The combination of import dependency and climate vulnerability makes food prices the single largest source of inflation volatility. El Nino patterns, Black Sea disruptions, or India export bans on rice and onions represent specific tail risks.
• Exchange rate and reserve pressure: The taka at Tk 119.50 under the crawling peg faces continued pressure from the current account deficit. If reserves decline further below 4.2 months of import cover, a disorderly depreciation could trigger a feedback loop where inflation expectations become unanchored, capital outflows accelerate, and the exchange rate and inflation spiral together. Sri Lanka 2022 and Pakistan 2023 illustrate how rapidly this dynamic can escalate.
• Fiscal-monetary coordination failure: Continued administered price hikes for electricity, gas, and fuel (driven by IMF conditionality) will add step-function CPI shocks that offset monetary tightening. Without explicit coordination between the Ministry of Finance and BB on the timing and magnitude of administered price adjustments, monetary policy operates against a moving fiscal target.

Policy recommendations:

• Formalize inflation targeting with institutional reform: Amend the Bangladesh Bank Order to grant operational independence with a clear price stability mandate and a formal target (5.5% +/- 1.5 pp). Publish quarterly Inflation Reports with forecasts, implement 6-weekly MPS meetings with press conferences, and develop a published Taylor-type reaction function. India's 2016 adoption of formal inflation targeting provides a directly relevant template. The transition requires parallel banking sector reform, particularly resolution of SOCB NPLs and elimination of directed lending at sub-market rates, to restore monetary transmission.
• Establish a transparent exchange rate framework: Move from the current ad hoc crawling peg to a rules-based managed float with published intervention criteria. BB should communicate a clear hierarchy: price stability takes precedence over exchange rate stability. Build reserves toward 5 months of import cover through a combination of tighter monetary policy (attracting capital inflows via positive real rates), formalization of remittance channels (reducing hundi/hawala leakage), and IMF/WB budget support.
• Coordinate fiscal and monetary disinflation: Establish a formal fiscal-monetary coordination committee to sequence administered price adjustments (electricity, gas, fuel) so they do not cluster in ways that create CPI spikes. Spread subsidy rationalization across 8-12 quarters rather than concentrating adjustments. Accompany each administered price increase with targeted cash transfers to the bottom two quintiles to prevent the fiscal consolidation from becoming a regressive tax on the poor.

Data sources: Bangladesh Bank Monetary Policy Statements, BBS CPI data, IMF Commodity Price Indices (via FRED), WB Development Indicators, BLS CPI. All figures reflect the most recent available data.