Malaysian Inflation Rises To 2.0%, Highest In 9 Months

(RTTNews) - Malaysia's consumer price inflation rose for the first time in four months in May to the highest level in nine months, largely amid higher utility costs, data from the Department of Statistics showed on Tuesday.

The consumer price index, or CPI, climbed 2.0 percent year-on-year in May, after April's stable increase of 1.8 percent. Economists had expected inflation to rise to 1.9 percent.

Further, this was the highest inflation rate since August 2023, when prices had risen the same 2.0 percent.

The annual price growth in utilities accelerated to 3.2 percent from 3.0 percent. Costs for information and communication rebounded 0.4 percent after falling 2.5 percent in April.

On the other hand, prices for food and beverages grew at a slower pace of 1.8 percent versus a 2.0 percent rise a month ago. Health costs were 2.2 percent lower, which was slightly below the 2.3 percent increase in April.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices moved up 0.3 percent in May, after a 0.2 percent increase in the prior month.

Separate official data showed that the leading index for Malaysia, which measures future economic activity, improved to 113.1 in April from 112.2 in March.

The fifth consecutive month of increases suggests that the economy remained on a growing trajectory, the agency said.