Dhaka: Celebrations of Bengala New Year Pahela Boishakh amid wider festivity slightly affected the economy this year with Bureau of Statistics (BBS) saying it somewhat increased the inflation rate in the last month.

The latest BBS data showed that monthly inflation stood at 6.32% in April while the figure was 6.27% in March as it attributed the phenomenon due to wide festivity on the first day of the Bengali New Year on April 14.

‘Widely celebration of Pahela Baishakh across the country posed handsome demand in the economy which pushed the inflation slightly upward’ Planning Minister A H M Mustafa Kamal told reporters while releasing the monthly consumer price index at the NEC conference room at Sher-e-Banglanagar in Dhaka on Wednesday.

He, however, added that the celebration appeared universal in Bangladesh as it encouraged the people to purchase both food and non-food items marking the occasion.

But he expressed the hope that the ongoing fiscal year would end with an average 6.50% inflation rate.

‘I can firmly say the rate of inflation in this fiscal would not exceed 6.50%,’ Kamal said.

The month of June, the first month of the fiscal this year started with 7.04 percent inflation rate while it came down to lowest 6.04% in January, and then it has started to maintain upward trend.

Apart from the general inflation, the rate of food inflation also increased while the non-food inflation came down, according to the BBS data.

The food inflation stood at 6.48% in April which was 6.37% in March while the non-food inflation came down to 6.08%, which was 6.12 percent in the previous month.

On the other hand, inflation at the urban level stood at 6.88% while it was 6.03% at rural level.

At the rural level, the food inflation stood at 5.99%, up from 5.95% in April and the non-food inflation came down to 6.09% from 6.13% in March.

In urban areas, the food inflation stood at 7.62% point, up from 7.36% in March. But, the non-food inflation decreased to 6.07% from 6.11% in the previous month.

The national wage index rate witnessed a 9.36% growth in April with 9169.76 point which was 9085.62 point in March.

The average year to year rate of inflation from May 2014 to April 2015 stood at 6.56 percent, which was 7.48% from May 2013 to April 2014.