Sri Lanka, July 1 -- Headline inflation accelerated further in June, rising above the Central Bank's 5 percent target as higher domestic energy prices linked to the Middle East conflict continued to feed through to the economy.

The Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI)-based annual inflation rate rose to 6.8 percent in June from 5.5 percent in May. The increase was attributed largely to the impact of continued upward adjustments in domestic energy prices.

This is the third consecutive month of accelerated inflation, following rates of 5.4 percent in April and 5.5 percent in May.

Non-food inflation climbed to 8.4 percent in June from 7.8 percent a month earlier, while food inflation accelerated sharply to 3.6 percent from 0.9 percent.

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