DHAKA:  Inflation in Bangladesh surged to 11.66% in July, making it the highest rate in 13 years, primarily due to rising food prices, according to a report from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on Monday.

In June, the inflation rate was 9.72%.

Food inflation surged to 14.10% in July, reaching its highest level in at least a decade. In June, it was reported at 10.42%, according to BSS.

Similarly, inflation for non-food items rose to 9.68% in July, up from 9.15% in June, according to the data.

The country's average inflation jumped to 9.73% for the fiscal year 2023-24 (July 2023-June 2024), much higher than the budgetary target of 7.5% for the period.

This is up from an overall inflation rate of 9.02% in the previous fiscal year, 2022-23.

Xinhua/RSS