PPI eases slightly to 4.0 pct in October

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s producer price index (PPI) has eased slightly to 4.0 per cent in October 2022 as compared to 4.9 per cent in the preceding month, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM) said.

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the index for the month was attributed to a 7.3 per cent increase in the manufacturing index (September 2022: 8.1 per cent) on the back of sustaining a single-digit growth over the past four months.

“The incline in this sector was due to a 20.0 per cent increase in the indices of coke and refined petroleum products (September 2022: 19.3 per cent), followed by computer, electronic and optical products (6.7 per cent), food products (5.4 per cent), and chemicals and chemical products (4.2 per cent).

“Similarly, utility indices recorded an increase of 4.9 per cent for the water supply index and 1.2 per cent for the electricity and gas supply index,” he said in a statement.

Mohd Uzir said the current trend in the PPI was also contributed by the fall in two main sectors, namely agriculture, forestry and fishing (-18.2 per cent), and mining (-0.5 per cent).

For a monthly comparison, he said the PPI for local production grew 0.1 per cent in October 2022 after charting a decline for four consecutive months, contributed by the mining index growth of 5.0 per cent (September 2022: -4.9 per cent), in line with the rise in world crude oil prices to US$90.3 per barrel (US $1=RM4.48) in October 2022 as compared to US$88.2 per barrel in the previous month.

Commenting on the inflation at the producer level of selected countries, Mohd Uzir said that for this, several countries showed a moderate increase in October 2022 as compared to the trend in the preceding month.

“Inflation at the producer level for the United States recorded an increase of 8.0 per cent (September 2022: 8.4 per cent) contributed by the price of energy products (21.8 per cent) ) and food products (12.7 per cent).”

He said the rise in petroleum products (40.6 per cent), chemical and pharmaceutical (20.1 per cent), and food products (16.1 per cent) have contributed to the 14.8 per cent increase in inflation at the producer level in the United Kingdom in October 2022 as opposed to 16.3 per cent in the preceding month.

“The current declining trend in the world’s main commodities prices will indirectly affect the prices of consumer goods and may reduce inflationary pressure in the upcoming months,” he added.