COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's rate of inflation, as measured by the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI), was up 5.3 percent in May from a year earlier, compared with a 4.3 percent increase in April, the Department of Census and Statistics said on Tuesday.

It was the highest point-to-point inflation since May 2015, according to NCPI data.

Inflation climbed for the fourth straight month in May after recording a fall of 0.7 percent in January, according to the index, which was introduced in October last year with 2103 as the base year.

The NCPI in May rose 1.9 percent on a month-on-month basis, compared with a rise of 01.5 percent in April.

Copyright Reuters, 2016