New Delhi, Aug 16 (IANS) Bangladesh’s middle-class households are finding it increasingly difficult to balance everyday expenses, as persistently high inflation, rising energy costs and stagnant real incomes steadily erode their purchasing power and savings, a report has said.
For families that once managed to pay rent, utility bills, food and transport expenses while putting aside a small amount each month, the financial cushion is rapidly disappearing, a report by The Daily Star said.
The prolonged cost-of-living squeeze is forcing many households to cut discretionary spending, postpone healthcare and education expenses, switch to cheaper goods or borrow to maintain their basic living standards.
The pressure is evident in the experience of Rezwana Rahman, a resident of Dhaka’s Mohammadpur area.
After a relatively cooler July and limited use of her family’s lone air conditioner, she expected the electricity bill for her two-bedroom flat to remain below Tk 2,000. Instead, the bill exceeded Tk 3,000.
The increase came despite lower electricity consumption compared with May, when a fortnight-long gas outage had forced the family to rely heavily on both an air conditioner and an induction stove. That month, the electricity bill was around Tk 2,000.
Rezwana said the unexpected rise left her struggling to understand how the household budget would cope with further increases in essential expenses, according to the report.
The problem extends beyond electricity bills. Following the Iran war that began in February, the government raised prices of fuel, power and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), adding to pressure on households already grappling with elevated food and transport costs.
The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) had warned in June that higher power tariffs could worsen Bangladesh’s already severe inflationary environment.
Those concerns have since been reflected in central bank data. In its quarterly Inflation Dynamics in Bangladesh report for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025-26, Bangladesh Bank identified energy inflation as the main driver of average headline inflation, which rose to 9.21 per cent.
Food prices have added another layer of pressure. Food inflation accelerated to 8.7 per cent in June from 7.71 per cent in December last year and 8.24 per cent in March.
The increase was driven by sharp rises in prices of meat, fish, fruits, vegetables and spices, the report mentioned.
–IANS
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