The Mastercard Economics Institute (MEI) projects that Bangladesh’s consumer price inflation will be 7.3% in the upcoming year, a notable decrease from the government’s reported 12-month average of 9.42% in November.
Conversely, the MEI expresses optimism about Bangladesh’s GDP growth, forecasting a rate of 6.3%, closely aligning with the Asian Development Bank’s estimate of 6.5%. However, the World Bank is more conservative, anticipating a slower growth rate of 5.6% in the coming year.
In its report, titled “Economic Outlook 2024: Striking a balance between prices and priorities,” released on December 11, the MEI anticipates a global trend of easing inflation pressures in 2024. The institute suggests a partial normalization of monetary policies by central banks worldwide, as inflation expectations stabilize while economic growth experiences a moderate slowdown. Globally, inflation is expected to decrease to 4.9% in 2024, down from 6% in the current year.
Removing the impact of inflation, the MEI predicts that global real GDP growth in 2024 will marginally decrease to 2.9% from 3% in the current year. The institute attributes this to consumers continuing to spend due to a robust labor market. In Bangladesh, headline inflation reached a seven-month low of 9.49% in November, marking a decline from October’s 9.93%. Both food and non-food inflation also showed decreases in November.
