February CPI up 4.5 per cent to 119.7

KUALA LUMPUR: The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of inflation, rose by 4.5 per cent to 119.7 in February 2017 compared to 114.5 in the same month last year, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia.

In a statement yesterday, the department said this followed a 4.3 per cent rise in the index for food and non-alcoholic beverages, which carried a weightage of 30.2 per cent.

Among the major groups which contributed to the CPI increase were transport (+17.9 per cent), recreation services & culture (+3.1 per cent), health (+2.4 per cent), restaurants and hotels (+2.3 per cent) and housing, water, electricity, gas & other fuels (+2.2 per cent), it said.

It said the transport group was up by 17.9 per cent year-on-year in February 2017, after rising 8.3 per cent in January 2017. The department said in the month reviewed, the average price of one litre of RON95 petrol was RM2.30 compared to RM1.75 in the same month last year.

RON97 petrol prices went up to RM2.60 in February 2017 from RM2.05 in the same month 2016, it said. It said on a monthly basis, the CPI for February 2017 increased by 1.3 per cent to 119.7 as compared to January 2017.