Interest rates to be hiked by 50 basis points to 9%

The central bank is going to raise interest rates by 50 basis points to 9 percent soon within the next couple of days.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur shared the plan in an exclusive interview with the BBC.

Currently, the interest rate is 8.5 percent in the country.

Mansur also told the BBC that he will raise the rates further to 10 percent or more in the coming months to tame inflation.

The newly appointed governor hinted at raising interest rates at a time when the country is grappling with 14 percent food inflation recorded in July this year—the highest in 13 years—intensifying the strain on the middle- and lower-income groups.

Earlier on May 8, the Bangladesh Bank raised the policy rate by 50 basis points to 8.5 percent, but inflation showed no sign of cooling.