The overall inflation continued its rising trend in November last year, going up by 0.53 percentage point to stand at 7.24 percent.

The inflation in urban areas increased more compared to that in rural areas, according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data.

However, food inflation fell slightly in the rural areas because of Aman harvest.

The food inflation increased by 0.06 percentage point at national level in November and stood at 7.84 percent compared to a month back Non-food inflation went up by 1.37 percentage points to reach 6.44 percent.

The overall inflation rose by 0.21 percentage point in the rural areas and hit 6.83 percent. But the food inflation fell by 0.26 percentage point and stood at 7 percent.

However, the overall inflation shot up by 1.31 percentage points and stood at 8.27 percent in the urban areas.

The inflation went down to two percent in June last year, which later began to witness a rising trend each month from July because of a hike in food prices.

The non-food inflation was higher than that of food in November.

The government considers the rising inflation as one of the maj or risks for future economic stability.

In a recent meeting on 'macro-economic situation', the prime minister has directed the authorities concerned to take necessary steps to keep the inflation rate ata tolerable level.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Sunday said the biggest challenge for the government in macro-economic management is reining in the inflation.

After the meeting with the premier, Muhith said prices of a good number of commodities, including petroleum products, are increasing on the international market resulting in a rise in the inflation risk.

Finance Secretary Dr Mohammad Tareq said the meeting decided to take measures to keep the cost of living at tolerable level. It also made a number of decisions to keep inflation under control. One of the measures is to increase the supply of commodities.

The amount of farm loans has been increased this year to strengthen the supply side, he said.

Tareq blamed the inflation on the price hike of fertilisers, petroleum products and food items on the international market.