Malaysia Inflation Steady At 1.7%

(RTTNews) - Malaysia's consumer price inflation held steady at the start of the year after easing to an 11-month low in the previous month, data from the Department of Statistics showed on Friday.

The consumer price index, or CPI, climbed 1.7 percent year-on-year in January, as expected, unchanged from December.

Meanwhile, core inflation accelerated to 1.8 percent from 1.6 percent.

Housing and utility costs rose at a slower pace of 2.8 percent annually in January versus a 3.2 percent gain a month ago, and the growth in food and beverages eased to 2.5 percent from 2.7 percent.

At the same time, the decline in clothing and footwear softened to 0.3 percent from 0.5 percent. Costs for information and communication were 5.3 percent less expensive.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices increased at a stable rate of 0.1 percent.