Ahmed Kamal Khan Chowdhury, Managing Director of Prime Bank and Md. Assaduzzaman Mia, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner exchanging an MOU signing documents at the bank\'s head office in the city recently. Under the agreement, all members of DMP

Mamun-Ur-Rashid, Managing Director of Standard Bank Ltd. inaugurating its 11th Agent Outlet at North Jatrabari in the city on Thursday. AF Jamal Uddin, Head of Agent Banking Division, SM Nazrul Islam, Manager of Foreign Exchange Branch, senior executives

WASHINGTON: Falling food and energy prices helped keep US wholesale inflation flat in May, in another sign of slackening price pressures, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.

The new figures come as the US central bank begins a two-day monetary policy meeting, with the Federal Reserve widely expected to raise the key interest rate for the second time this year despite signs of a cooling economy, reports AFP.

Policymakers said last month they believed the weakness in the economy likely was "transitory" and a rate hike would be appropriate "soon," although they also promised to wait for confirmation the recovery has resumed before increasing the benchmark lending rate.

The Producer Price Index, which measures input costs from the seller's perspective, was unchanged in May, down sharply from April's 0.5 percent jump.  The result matched analyst expectations.

For the latest 12 months, PPI was up 2.4 percent, down a tenth of a percentage point from last month's reading.

Energy prices continued to see sharp declines, dropping three percent, as gasoline prices plunged 11.2 percent, the largest drop since February 2016.

Food prices meanwhile fell 0.2 percent in the month.

Car prices also posted a big decline, amid flagging car sales, falling 1.4 percent from April.

"The drop in new car sales in recent months clearly has worried automakers, who have responded with the biggest one-month price cut since July 2009," Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics said.

However, services showed persistent signs of rising prices, up 2.1 percent compared to May 2016, the largest increase in two and a half years.

Excluding the more volatile categories food, fuel and trade services, PPI slipped 0.1 percent for the month, while the 12-month rate was up 2.1 percent, unchanged from last month.

Shepherdson said costs for services were driving up "core" PPI, excluding food and fuel, which gained 0.3 percent for the month and was up 2.1 percent over May 2016.

Core goods and services prices are trending higher, he said in a research note, and while "Neither are yet very alarming ...further sustained increases would be unwelcome."

The May consumer price report is due out Wednesday, which last month showed a 12-month rate of 2.2 percent, two-tenths below PPI.

Chris Low of FTN Financial said, "There is plenty of leeway for wholesale prices to rise faster than consumer prices. In the past, the PPI has run well above and well below the CPI for years at a time."

Among the notable results, guestroom rentals saw the biggest monthly decline since the Labor Department began tracking them in 2009, falling 5.2 percent for the month.

AFP, Washington :
The World Bank on Tuesday said it had approved a $520 million plan to help Afghanistan, which has been weakened by the Taliban insurgency and gradual withdrawal of US troops.
Almost half of the amount, given in the form of grants, will be dedicated to supporting people displaced by the violence in the country and those returning from exile in neighboring Pakistan, the bank said in a statement.
The rest will be allocated to anti-poverty reforms aimed at "increasing economic opportunities" by developing the private sector and improving power supply to households and businesses in the province of Herat.
More than fifteen years after the start of the US anti-Taliban offensive in Afghanistan-officially ended in 2014 -- the country remains in deep crisis amid rampant poverty, instability and the ongoing exit of NATO troops.
"The international troop withdrawal, begun in 2011, coupled with political uncertainties, have resulted in a slowdown of economic growth, while government budget pressures are increasing as security threats mount and drive people from their homes," the bank said.
The International Monetary Fund expressed concern over the county's dire economic situation in late January. One of the world's poorest nations, Afghanistan is struggling to absorb some 700,000 returning refugees.