Malaysia’s inflation rate eases to 4.0 per cent in October

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s inflation rate has eased to

4.0 per cent in October 2022 compared to the 4.5 per cent recorded in September 2022, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

However, the rate still surpassed the nation’s average inflation for the period of January 2011-October 2022 of 2.0 per cent, DOSM said in a statement yesterday.

Chief statistician Malaysia Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October 2022 increased by 4.0 per cent year-on-year to 128.6 from 123.7 in October 2021.

He said the inflation rate in Malaysia during the month was lower than the inflation in the Philippines (7.7 per cent), Thailand (6.0 per cent), Indonesia (5.7 per cent), and South Korea (5.7 per cent).

“The Eurozone’s inflation jumped to 10.7 per cent in October 2022 from 9.9 per cent in the previous month driven by energy inflation (41.9 per cent); food, alcohol and tobacco (13.1 per cent); non-energy industrial goods (6.0 per cent) and services (4.4 per cent),” he said.

The inflation rate in the United States eased to 7.7 per cent in October 2022 from 8.2 per cent in September 2022.

At home, the moderate increase in the October inflation rate was driven by the slower increase for the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels group to 1.5 per cent from 4.0 per cent in September 2022.

“This slower increase was due to the absence of base effects attributed to the discontinuation of electricity discounts under the National People’s Well-Being and Economic Recovery Package (Pemulih) from July to September 2021,” Mohd Uzir said.

The chief statistician said inflation for the food and non-alcoholic beverages group increased by 7.1 per cent versus the 6.8 per cent recorded in September 2022.

“There are food items that showed a slower growth momentum as compared to September 2022. Among the subgroups were vegetables, which increased to 4.8 per cent from 6.3 per cent, and oils and fats increased 2.6 per cent from 3.8 per cent in September 2022,” he said.

Mohd Uzir said apart from the food group, all other groups continued to record increases except for communication, which remained unchanged compared to the same month last year. The restaurants and hotels group increased by 6.8 per cent, followed by transport (5.2 per cent); furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance (4.1 per cent); and recreation services and culture (3.4 per cent).

“In addition, miscellaneous goods and services grew 2.4 per cent; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels were up 1.5 per cent; and education was 1.4 per cent higher. Both health and alcoholic beverages and tobacco groups increased 1.0 per cent and 0.8 per cent, respectively, while clothing and footwear inclined marginally 0.4 per cent against October 2021,” he said.

Mohd Uzur said for the January to October 2022 period, inflation increased by 3.3 per cent as compared to the same period of the previous year, mainly attributed to food and non-alcoholic beverages (5.5 per cent), transport (4.6 per cent), and restaurants and hotels (4.6 per cent).

On a monthly basis, the inflation in October 2022 recorded 0.2 per cent as compared to 0.1 per cent in September 2022, contributed by the food and non-alcoholic beverages (0.5 per cent), while restaurants and hotels and miscellaneous goods and services groups increased by 0.3 per cent, respectively.