The rate of inflation went up by 0.05 percentage points to 5.54 per cent in September over the previous month due to rise in the prices of some non-food items, official data show.
The rate of non-food inflation increased by 0.10 percentage points to 5.92 per cent last month, with higher trend seen in rural areas, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data.
In August, the point-to-point non-food inflation rate was 5.82 per cent.
The BBS data show that the rate of inflation in the case of non-food items in rural areas increased by 0.17 percentage points to 5.42 per cent in September from 5.25 per cent in August.
Such an uptrend in inflation for non-food items, especially in villages, pushed up the general inflation, said a senior BBS official.
Higher expenditure on healthcare, education, firewood and some other products contributed to the rise in non-food inflation across the country, he told the FE.
However, the food inflation increased marginally to 5.30 per cent in September from 5.27 per cent in August, he added.
The food inflation rate rose due to an increase in prices of some items, including onion, ginger, garlic, dry chili, vegetables, eggs and broiler chicken, he said.
Economics Professor Dr MA Taslim said there is nothing to worry about as the overall inflation rate on point-to-point basis has not increased much.
"But since the non-food inflation rate is going up, there might be some problems with the supply side. The government should look into the supply situation of different items in the country," he told the FE.
Meanwhile, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, in their recent development outlook, have forecast that the inflation in Bangladesh would increase.
The multilateral development partners projected that the inflation in the current fiscal year (FY) 2019-20 will not remain within the 5.5 per cent target of the government.
According to the BBS data, the rate of point-to-point inflation both in rural and urban areas has also increased in September.
In rural areas, the inflation rate in the last month was recorded at 5.41 per cent, compared to 5.384 per cent in August.
The food inflation in the villages increased slightly to 5.40 per cent last month from 5.38 per cent in August.
In urban areas, the inflation on point-to-point basis also rose to 5.80 per cent in September from 5.75 per cent in the previous month.
The food inflation in the cities increased to 5.10 per cent last month from 5.02 per cent in August.
The non-food inflation in urban areas also rose slightly to 6.61 per cent last month from 6.60 per cent the previous month.
The BBS data showed that the monthly average inflation in the one year from October 2018 to September 2019 was recorded at 5.50 per cent.
The figure was 5.68 per cent in the same period of the previous year.
For fiscal year 2019-20, the government has set a target to keep the inflation rate within 5.6 per cent limit.
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