Inflation inches up in August

The general point-to-point inflation rate has increased by 0.18 percentage point to 5.54 per cent in August, compared to the previous month.

According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data released on Tuesday, the overall inflation in the country stood at 5.54 per cent in August, which was 5.36 per cent in July.

As per the BBS data, food inflation increased to 5.16 per cent, while the non-food inflation was recorded at 6.13 per cent in August.

Food and non-food inflation were 5.08 per cent and 5.80 per cent in July respectively. In July, the non-food inflation rate declined slightly to 5.8 percent from 5.94 percent in June.

Meanwhile, inflation in rural areas rose at a higher rate than that of the urban areas in the last month. In August, the rural inflation increased to 5.71 per cent from 5.53 per cent in July.

The food inflation in the rural areas was recorded at 5.67 per cent in the last month, up from 5.56 per cent in July.

The non-food inflation also increased to 5.79 per cent in August in rural Bangladesh from 5.47 per cent in July. The urban inflation increased slightly to 5.22 per cent in August from 5.06 per cent in July.

The food inflation in urban areas was recorded at 4.02 per cent in the last month, up from 4.01 per cent in July.

But non-food inflation in urban areas rose in the last month to 6.59 per cent in August from 6.24 per cent in the July.