Dhaka: Bangladesh Bank (BB) is set to announce its Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) for the second half of the fiscal year 2024-25 (FY25) on January 27. A senior official from the central bank confirmed this tentative date, although noted that it could be adjusted by a day or two.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the upcoming MPS is being developed with a ‘contractionary’ focus, prioritizing the battle against inflation. This will mark the first monetary policy announced by Dr. Ahsan H Mansur, who became governor of Bangladesh Bank following the political changeover on August 5 of the previous year.
Meetings are being conducted by the central bank’s Monetary Policy Department with both internal and external stakeholders, along with economists, to formulate the MPS. Last week, a meeting was held in Chattogram with stakeholders and economists. Additionally, discussions have taken place in Dhaka with leading research organizations, including the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh, and South Asian Network on Economic Modelling.
The official noted that the committee responsible for formulating the monetary policy will consolidate observations from various sources on the policy’s objectives and structure, including measures for regulating currency and lending rates, before finalizing it on January 20. Subsequently, the Bangladesh Bank’s board of directors will approve the policy on January 22 and schedule a date for its implementation announcement.
Inflation in Bangladesh has remained above 9 percent since March 2023, despite the central bank’s contractionary policies. The policy rate has been increased several times, currently standing at 10 percent. However, inflation slightly decreased in December, easing to 10.89 percent from 11.38 percent in November, as reported by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
Previously, Bangladesh Bank unveiled the MPS for the current fiscal year’s first half on July 18, 2024.