"The general point-to-point inflation rate slightly came down to 5.43 percent in September and it was 5.48 percent in August," said Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Tuesday.

The minister said this while releasing the monthly consumer price index (CPI) at a briefing after the weekly Ecnec meeting.

The inflation decreased as the prices of different food items were low during the month of September last, he said.

The minister mentioned that the general point-to-point inflation rate in September 2017 was 6.12 percent.

According to data of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the point-to-point food inflation slightly declined to 5.42 percent in September from 5.97 percent in August though the prices of fish, meat, vegetable, spices, fruits and milk went up.

But the BBS data showed that the point-to-point non-food inflation rate increased to 5.45 percent in September 2018 from 4.73 percent in August, 2018 as the prices of clothes, electricity and education materials, house rent and transport fare increased.

Besides, the general inflation rate at the urban level declined to 6.23 percent in September from 6.28 percent in August, while that at the rural level also came down at 4.99 percent from 5.05 percent during the period.

In September, the food inflation was 6.65 percent at urban level, while 4.86 percent at the rural level. The non-food inflation was 5.74 percent at the urban level, while 5.22 percent at the rural level during the same month.

The point-to-point national wage index witnessed a declining trend with 6.25 percent in September as against 6.38 percent in August.