Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Atiur Rahman will announce the next monetary policy statement (MPS) later this month amid downside risks from divergent aspects, reports BSS.
"The monetary policy statement will be announced on January 29," Biru Paksha Paul, the newly-appointed chief economist of BB told the news agency. The economist, who was an associate professor of economics at a US university, did not want to make any comment on the forthcoming flagship policy instrument of the central bank.
Governor Rahman, however, already pointed out the downside risk factors while he was making some points on the country's economic outlook for 2015.
He cautioned about the possible inflationary pressure from implementation of the new pay scale, but said that BB would keep the issue in mind and design the upcoming monetary policy for expediting growth prospect.
He also put high hope on higher growth prospect provided that the political situation remains stable like last year.
"If the stimulation in domestic demand that the economy experienced at the fag end of 2014 is continued, earning a growth rate of 6.5 per cent or more will not be difficult in 2015," said the governor.
While announcing the MPS for the first half of the current 2014-15 financial year (FY15) on July 26 last year, the governor was cushioned with the already restored political, economic and social stability by the newly elected government under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. This time the government has also committed of maintaining a political and social stability, but many expressed concern at the BNP-Jamaat's destructive activities in the name of politics.
Rahman said one of the main targets of the financial sector would be to increase the purchasing power of the lower and middle income people, and BB would focus on improving banking governance to help boost investment confidence, which would eventually create more jobs and increase trade and business.
Despite the risk factors, the governor will be comforted by the strong trend in the economy, which already achieved a 6.12 per cent growth rate against all political odds when the per capita income rose from $1044 in 2013-14 financial year (FY14) to $1190 in FY15.
The main objective of the BB's monetary policy stance - containing inflation - also came down to 25-month low at 6.11 per cent in December, very close the target, set out in the last MPS.
The last MPS targeted bringing the average inflation down to 6.5 per cent by June 2015, with ensuring that credit supply to private sector stimulates inclusive economic growth.
The global oil and food prices would also offer the governor a larger comfort zone to absorb some domestic jolts.
The oil price tumbled by 60 per cent in the last six months to $46 a barrel when the food prices showed down trend for the third consecutive years at the end of December.