Dhaka, Feb. 8 -- Bangladesh's inflation rate rose in January compared with December last year, largely due to higher food prices, according to the latest official data.

On a point-to-point basis, overall inflation stood at 8.58 percent in January, up from 8.49 percent in December, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) said in figures released on Sunday.

The January inflation rate indicates that a basket of goods and services that cost Tk 100 in January last year required Tk 108.58 to purchase in January this year.

The updated BBS data show that inflation increased again in January, extending an upward trend seen over the previous months.

In the food sector, overall inflation rose to 8.29 percent in January from 7.71 percent in Dec...