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Malaysia – Stats Dept: Producer Price Index grows 1.3pc y-o-y in Jan 2023
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 — The Producer Price Index (PPI) for local production, which measures prices of goods at the factory gate, grew at a slower pace of 1.3 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in January 2023 compared with 3.5 per cent y-o-y in December 2022, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM) reported today.
Based on its infographic, the slower growth was partly due to a larger decrease in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector PPI, which shrank 20.9 per cent y-o-y versus the 17.5 per cent contraction posted in the previous month.
Moreover, the mining index slipped 2.2 per cent y-o-y last month after growing 3.7 per cent in December 2022.
However, DoSM noted that January’s growth was supported by the manufacturing sector PPI which expanded 4.5 per cent y-o-y, albeit moderating from 6.1 per cent in December 2022, as well as the electricity and gas supply sector PPI which inched up 1.2 per cent y-o-y from 1.0 per cent previously.
The water supply index was unchanged at 3.8 per cent y-o-y in January 2023, it said.
On a monthly basis, DoSM said the PPI for local production, which shrank 0.3 per cent in December 2022, eased further by 0.8 per cent last month.
It was dragged down mainly by the mining index which shrank 2.2 per cent from a growth of 3.7 per cent in the previous month, and the manufacturing index which slipped 0.7 per cent after staying flat in December 2022.
As for the PPI for selected countries, the infographic showed the United States’ (US) PPI also continued to climb to 6.0 per cent y-o-y in January 2023 albeit at a slower pace compared with 6.5 per cent the month before; Germany’s PPI went up 17.8 per cent y-o-y from December 2022’s 21.6 per cent, and China’s PPI contraction widened by 0.8 per cent y-o-y from 0.7 per cent in December 2022.
On the outlook, chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said that based on global economic projections, commodities are expected to experience a modest decline in 2023 compared to last year due to disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, coupled with sluggish global demand and geopolitical pressure between the US and China.
He noted a Fitch Solutions’ 2023 Market Outlook report that said out of 26 commodities, 19 commodities are expected to record lower market prices on a y-o-y basis, including Malaysia’s main export of palm oil.
“Other commodities like sugar and rice are projected (to see) higher market prices,” he said in a separate statement today. — Bernama