Inflation hits 16-month high

Inflation hit a 16-month high in February driven by soaring costs of essential foods ranging from staple food rice, edible oil, vegetables to protein items.

Last month, overall inflation was 6.17 per cent, up from 5.86 per cent in  January, according to data released by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) today. The previous high was 6.44 per cent in October 2020.

Food inflation grew 6.22 per cent in February from 5.6 per cent in January, said the BBS.

Non-food inflation declined.

Measured by the consumer price index (CPI) based on a basket of goods and services consumed by consumers, inflation reflects an increase in the level of prices of the items in the basket.

BBS measures CPI for rural areas by taking 318 items and 422 commodities and services to calculate urban inflation.

It calculates the national CPI by combining the urban and rural indices using weight factors.