Bangladesh’s general inflation rate has decreased slightly from 9.89 percent in May to 9.72 percent in June after a modest easing of food prices.

Though food inflation was lower in June compared to May, it was still in double digits and higher than the rate in April, according to the updated inflation data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics published on Sunday.

Food inflation in June was 10.42 percent, down from 10.76 percent in May, but up from the 10.22 percent in April.

Bangladesh has seen eye-watering inflation throughout the 2023-24 fiscal year.

In the budget for that fiscal year, Bangladesh had set a target of restricting inflation to 7.5 percent.

The government, through the central bank, also took several strict measures. It raised the policy interest rates while making interest rates more market-based.

However, economists say the government should have taken even more drastic measures more quickly to rein in inflation. As the government has been slow in implementing these steps, its efforts to combat rising prices has had limited impact.

The BBS’s figures suggest these criticisms are warranted. Despite the contractionary policies implemented by the government, the average inflation rate for the 2023-24 fiscal year stood at 9.73 percent, up from 9.2 percent the previous fiscal year.