KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 17): Malaysia’s inflation eased in July as increases in transport prices slowed, even as food prices gained pace, official data on Monday showed.
The consumer price index, the country’s main gauge of inflation, rose 1.8% in July from a year earlier, the Department of Statistics Malaysia said in a statement. The reading is below the median 1.9% rise predicted in a Bloomberg survey and June’s 1.9% year-on-year increase.
On a month-on-month basis, the index was unchanged in July.
Core inflation — a measure of underlying inflation that strips out volatile and administered prices — also eased to 1.8% in July from 1.9% in June.
Food and beverage inflation, which accounts for nearly 30% of the CPI basket, picked up to 1.8% as prices of both food at home and food away from home increased. Chicken prices, the largest component of the meat category, rose 6.7% year-on-year in July, accelerating from 1.2% in June.
Inflation for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels also accelerated to 1.8%, mainly due to higher water-related charges and electricity, gas and fuel costs.
Transport inflation, meanwhile, slowed to 1.4% from 2.8% in June, helped by lower costs of operating personal transport equipment.
The implementation of the Budi diesel mechanism from July 1 also contributed to the slower increase in transport costs, as eligible private diesel vehicle owners were able to purchase subsidised diesel at RM2.10 per litre.