Malaysian Inflation Slows Down 2 Percent In July 2023

Malaysian Inflation Slows Down 2 Percent In July 2023 (intermediate)

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's Department of Statistics (DOSM) recorded inflation slowing down 2.0 percent in July to its lowest since early 2023 with index points 130.5 compared to 127.9 in the same month the previous year.

Malaysia's Head of Statistics Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin in Putrajaya, Friday, said the slow pace of inflation was driven by a lower increase in the Restaurant and Hotel group by 5.0 percent (June 2023; 5.4 percent) and the Non-Alcoholic Food and Beverage Group by 4.4 percent (June 2023; 4.7 percent).

The slowing increase, according to him, was also followed by a group of various Goods and Services of 2.6 percent, while the Health and Education group increased by 2.0 percent.

The Non-Alcoholic Food and Beverage Group accounted for 29.5 percent of the total Consumer Price Index, which showed a moderate increase of 4.4 percent (June 2023; 4.7 percent).

Home Food Components recorded a lower increase in five consecutive months in Malaysia, where in July it was recorded at 3.0 percent while the previous month it reached 3.2 percent.

The increase in the group was driven mainly by subgroups of Meat (5.5 percent), Rice, bread and whole grains (4.5 percent), Milk, cheese and eggs (4.3 percent) and Sugar, butter, honey, chocolate and candied (3.5 percent).

Meanwhile, subgroups that showed a slow increase, such as Mati canai 5.2 percent (June 2023; 7.6 percent), chicken rice 5.1 percent (June 2023; 6.3 percent).

The transportation group in July 2023 recorded a decline since March 2021 of 0.4 percent. That, according to him, was contributed mainly by the decline in the private transportation subgroup (-0.8 percent).

RON97's leadless gasoline price recorded a negative 28.8 percent in July 2023 (3.37 Malaysian ringgit (RM) per liter, around Rp11,110 per liter) compared to July 2022 (RM4.73 per liter, around Rp15,594 per liter).

In the transportation service subgroup (1.4 percent) and vehicle purchases (1.3 percent), to some extent, the group's inflation has continued to decline.

Mohd Uzir Mahudin said there were nine states or countries that recorded an increase in inflation below the national level of 2.0 percent, while the Labuan Fellowship Area recorded inflation at least 1.1 percent last July.

Meanwhile, six states recorded inflation above the national level, namely Pahang (2.6 percent), Sarawak (2.6 percent), the Putrajaya Fellowship Area (2.6 percent), Perak (2.4 percent), Selangor (2.4 percent) and Melaka (2.2 percent).

In comparison, he said inflation in Malaysia was lower than the European zone (5.3 percent), the Philippines (4.7 percent), Singapore (4.1 percent), the United States (3.2 percent), Indonesia (3.1 percent), the Republic of South Korea (2.3 percent) and Vietnam (2.1 percent).

However, Malaysian inflation is still higher than Thailand (0.4 percent) and China (-0.3 percent) in July 2023.