The inflation (point-to-point) went up by 0.17 percentage points to 5.57 per cent in July this year as compared to 5.40 per cent in the same month last year, according to the latest BBS statistics released Wednesday.
The inflation was 5.94 per cent in June this year.
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) calculates the inflation on the basis of consumer price index (CPI), which went up by 1.17 per cent to 236.61 in July, the first month of the current fiscal year, as compared to 233.86 in the previous month (June).
It said the inflation went up in July due to increase in prices of some food and non-food items over the period.
It added that the prices of fish and meats, vegetables, fruits, milk and milk products, spices, fuel, house rent, treatment, transport and other items, and services rose in the last month compared to the previous month June, boosting the CPI in July.
After a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) Wednesday, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal unveiled the monthly inflation data, reverting from his earlier stance of releasing quarterly data.
In last two occasions, he released quarterly inflation data amid criticism by media and experts.
According to BBS figures, the month-on-month inflation of food items increased by 1.54 per cent in July while 0.62 per cent in cases of non-food items.
On point-to-point basis, the food inflation boosted significantly to 6.95 per cent in July this year as compared to 4.35 per cent in July last year.
However, the non-food inflation dropped to 3.53 per cent in July this year as compared to 6.98 per cent in the same period last year.
The month-on-month CPI in urban areas also rose by 0.99 per cent in July as compared to 0.69 per cent growth in the previous month (June), the BBS showed.
The CPI in the urban areas increased to 238.59 in July from that of 236.24 in June.
On the point-to-point basis, the inflation in July at urban areas was recorded at 5.86 per cent compared to 7.0 per cent in the same period last year.
In June 2017, the inflation on point-to-point basis in rural areas was 6.49 per cent.
The BBS showed that the CPI on month-on-month basis in rural areas went up by 1.27 per cent in July as compared to 0.31 per cent growth in June. The CPI in rural areas rose to 235.53 in July from that of 232.58 in June this year.
On point-to-point basis, the inflation in the rural areas was recorded higher at 5.41 per cent in July as compared to 4.54 per cent in the same month last year.
Besides, the point-to-point inflation in the previous month (June) was recorded at 5.65 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Wage Rate Index (WRI) on month-on-month basis in July increased to 145.69, a 0.28 percentage points higher than that of 145.39 recorded in the previous month (June).
The WRI boosted more at industrial sector with a 0.35 per cent growth. The WRI growth in the agriculture was recorded at 0.28 per cent and in services sector at 0.20 per cent in July.
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