The data of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) say the 7.95 percent national inflation rate in November came down to 7.07 percent in December last year.

In case of food items, inflation rate dropped by 1.44 percentage points to stand at 7.14 percent in December from 8.58 percent in November.

However, inflation rate increased by 0.1 percentage point in non-food items and stood at 7.13 percent in December, while it was 7.03 percent in November.

An analysis of the inflation situation shows the inflation rate in non-food items dropped in urban areas but increased in rural areas.

In the urban areas the inflation rate in non-food items declined by 0.08 percentage point, while in the rural areas it rose by 0.19 percentage point in December compared to that of November.

The rise in the inflation rate of the rural areas in non-food items contributed to the increase in the overall inflation rate in non-food items.

A planning ministry source said it is mainly the rise in the transportation cost that is responsible for making the non-food items dearer in the rural areas.

Though the government adjusted fuel prices in September, transport costs rose later in several phases, making the impact so evident in December.

Sources said the aus and aman production was better in FY 06 than in FY 05. Besides, the costs of food items saw a downward trend in December as the market had adequate supply of winter vegetables.

In the current fiscal year, 17.45 lakh tonnes of aus was produced, while the volume stood at 15 lakh tonnes in FY 05.

Agriculture ministry sources said 1.12 crore tonnes of aman rice will be produced this year, compared to last year's apparently poor production of 98 lakh tonnes due to floods.

The source said the price of rice this year is not as high as last year's due to a rise in aman production.

As the food price dropped, the inflation rate dropped by 1.14 percentage point in rural areas and 0.26 percentage point in urban areas.

In December, the inflation rate in rural areas was 7.23 percent, which was 8.37 percent in November.

In the food items the rate was 6.96 percent in December and 8.84 percent in November. In the non-food items the rate was 7.71 percent in December and 7.52 percent in November.

In December, the inflation rate in urban areas was 6.66 percent, which was 6.92 percent in November.

In the food items the rate was 7.58 percent in December and 7.99 percent in November. In the non-food items the rate was 5.66 percent in December and 5.74 percent in November.