Bangladesh's inflation leaps to 9.92 pct in August amid soaring food costs

DHAKA, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh's inflation increased to 9.92 percent in August, from 9.69 percent the previous month, driven by higher food prices, the country's statistics agency reported Sunday.

The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data showed that food inflation increased to 12.54 percent in August from 9.76 percent in the previous month.

Non-food items inflation eased to 7.95 percent in August from 9.47 percent in July, the data showed.

Inflation in Bangladesh jumped to 9.94 percent in May, the highest in the past decade, also mainly driven by higher food prices.

Bangladeshi Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said earlier in his budget speech that there has been a recent spike in prices, mainly due to external factors.

According to the budget proposal, Bangladesh targets an average inflation rate of 6.5 percent in the current fiscal year from July 2023 to June 2024.