Dhaka, June 7 -- The cost of living has tightened its grip on households as fuel-driven price pressures rippled through both the food and non-food sectors in May, pushing Bangladesh's inflation rate to a 16-month high.

The important economic indicator has ticked up for the second consecutive month. In April, the overall inflation rate was 9.04 percent.

It has now surged to 9.42 percent in May

The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) says that this jump is the result of rising prices in both the food and non-food sectors.

The previous high was in January 2025, when the overall inflation rate was 9.94 percent. Since then the rate has fluctuated, but its highest point was 9.35 percent, which was in March last year.

The 9.42 percent inf...