Persistent inflation rate of 9% unacceptable: Atiur Rahman

The inflation rate of over 9 percent in the country is absolutely unacceptable, said former governor of Bangladesh Bank Atiur Rahman today.
"It should be brought down between 4 to 5 percent," Rahman said at a virtual event titled "Thoughts of the beginning of the year: Which way is the economy of Bangladesh?". 

Rahman, who is also the chairperson of Unnayan Shamannay, a research and policy organisation, stated that tightening the monetary policy is not the only right step for reducing inflation, as other steps are also required. 

"A big devaluation of the taka against the dollar is increasing the import costs of essential items, resulting in higher inflation, so steps are needed to bring it to the market-driven rate," he said. 

According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, the country's inflation stood at 9.49 percent in November.