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Malaysia: September inflation rate at 0.3%, below forecast
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s consumer price index in September rose 0.3 percent from a year earlier, a marginal acceleration from a month ago when it hit its lowest pace in three-and-a-half years, government data showed on Friday.
September’s annual inflation rate fell short of a 0.8 percent rise forecast by a Reuters poll.
The index rose 0.2 percent in August on the back of a tax holiday after the government scrapped a goods and services tax (GST). It was the lowest since February 2015, when it was at 0.1 percent.
Inflation accelerated at a slower pace in September on static pricing of RON95 fuel at the pump, with no significant change even after the government reinstated a sales and services tax (SST) that month to replace GST, the Statistics Department said in a statement.
Overall inflation remained muted with marginal price growth in five of the 12 main groups tracked in the index; housing, restaurants, food and non-alcoholic beverages, transport and education.
Costs were down in the other sectors, with the biggest declines seen in the indexes for clothing and footwear, miscellaneous goods and services and communications.
Full-year inflation in 2018 is likely to remain contained even after the government re-introduced the SST, given the tax’s smaller footprint compared to the GST, according to a research note published on Wednesday by RAM Ratings, a local ratings firm.
Under SST, a tax of between 5 and 10 percent will be imposed on the sale of some goods, while some services will be assessed at 6 percent.
Malaysia’s central bank left its key interest rate unchanged in its Sept. 5 review, but said it expected headline inflation to edge upwards the rest of the year and through 2019. – Reuters
Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2018/10/26/september-inflation-rate-at-0pt3pct-below-forecast/#0Pca5ObUEBk6g5fG.99