Growth inflation seen to fall

Finance minister AMA Muhith, who laid out his Tk 114,000 crore budget on Thursday, sees the economy slowing and inflation falling.

In his budget speech Thursday, he set a target of 5.5 percent GDP growth for FY2009-10. Growth rate for the current FY2008-09 was 5.88 percent, which fell short of the targeted 6.5 percent, and marked a fall from the previous year's 6.2 percent.

With falling commodity and fuel prices, along with favourable production conditions, annual average inflation would come down to 6.5 percent from 7 percent, said Muhith. On a point to point basis inflation in July of the current fiscal year was 10.8 percent which fell to 5.4 percent in April 2009.

Average rate of inflation for the year was 9.9 percent in FY 2007-08. The finance minister presented the first budget of the new government in parliament Thursday, with a prposed outlay of Tk 1,13,819 crore. It comes in the back drop of global recession and the Awami League's expansive electoral pledges.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina was present in the House, while opposition leader Khaleda Zia remained absent as BNP has been boycotting the budget session over a seating dispute.