Cambodia's inflation rate has gradually reached 6.5 percent in May, up from 5.1 percent in April, according to the latest statistics released from the National Institute of Statistics (NIS) on Tuesday.

The inflation rate of 6.5 percent in May this year because the prices of food non-alcoholic beverages climbed 8 percent, prices for oil and fats increased by 10 percent, meats rose by 12 percent, pork by 15 percent, beef by 9 percent, chicken by 8 percent, seafood by 11 percent, and vegetables by 12 percent, said the report.

The report noticed that the prices of gasoline increased the highest of up to 15 percent.

On Tuesday, a liter of gasoline in Cambodia costs 1.32 U.S. dollars, up from 1.25 U.S. dollars in January.

Earlier this year, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank forecast the country's inflation rate in 2011 could be at 6.5 percent, 5 percent and 5.5 percent respectively, while the government of Cambodia predicted the rate below or equal 5 percent.