Thailand
Malaysia: Inflation falls for eighth month in October
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s inflation rate in October fell for the eighth month, down by 1.5% on-year due to lower fuel prices,based on the Statistics Department data.
According to the statement on Wednesday, the decline in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was faster than a Reuters’ poll of a fall of 1.4%. In September, the CPI fell by 1.4%.
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the CPI declined by 1.5% in October to 120.2 as against 122.0.
The decrease in the overall index was due to the decline in transport (-10.2%); housing, water, electricity, gas & other Fuels (-3%) and clothing & footwear (-0.4%) which contributed 41.6% to overall weight, he said.
“Out of 552 items covered in CPI, 337 items showed an increase in October 2020 as against October 2019. On the contrary, 150 items declined while 65 items were unchanged, ” he said.
Mohd Uzir said based on the performance of 552 items by category of goods and services, non-durable goods (296 items) is a category that experienced the most price increase with 208 items, 73 items decrease and 15 items unchanged as compared to services, semi-durable goods and durable goods.
He said the index for food & non-alcoholic beverages increased by 1.5% to 135.3 from 133.3 a year ago. This group contributes 29.5% of the weightage in the CPI.
Mohd Uzir said the CPI without fuel was up 0.1% in October. CPI without fuel covers all goods and services except Unleaded Petrol RON95, Unleaded Petrol RON97 and Diesel”.
He also said the CPI for January to October 2020 decreased by 1% as compared to the same period last year due to transport, housing, water, electricity, gas & other fuels (-1.5%) and clothing & footwear (-0.8%).
“Although year-on-year CPI decreased, CPI on monthly basis increased by 0.1% as compared to September 2020, he said, adding the increase was due to alcoholic beverages & tobacco (0.1%), recreation services & culture (0.1%) and health (0.1%).
Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2020/11/25/inflation-falls-for-eighth-month-in-october