Overview

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined 2.9 per cent in April 2020 to 117.6 as against 121.1 in the same month of the preceding year. This is the lowest rate of change recorded since 2010. The decrease in the overall index was driven by the decline of Transport (-21.5%) and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (-2.2%) which contributed 14.6 per cent and 23.8 per cent of overall weight.

The lower average price of RON95 in April 2020 which recorded RM1.27 per litre as compared to RM2.08 in April 2019 contributed to the decrease of the Transport and overall index. In addition, the average price of RON97 decreased to RM1.57 per litre as compared to RM2.71 while Diesel declined to RM1.49 per litre from RM2.18 in the corresponding month of the preceding year.

Nevertheless, Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages continued to increase in April 2020 by 1.2 per cent to 133.9 as compared to 132.3 in corresponding month of the preceding year. Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages contributes 29.5 per cent of CPI weight. Similarly, Miscellaneous Goods & Services also inclined by 2.3 per cent, followed by Communication (1.6%), Health (1.2%) and Education (1.2%). (Chart 1)

Chart 1: Percentage Change of Consumer Price Index by Main Group

On a monthly basis, CPI decreased 2.7 per cent as compared to March 2020. The decrease was contributed by Transport (-13.5%) and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (-3.8%). Meanwhile, the CPI for the period of January to April 2020 decreased 0.1 per cent as compared to the same period last year.

Index for Subgroup Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages

The index for Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages increased 1.2 per cent in April 2020 as compared to the same month of the previous year. The increase was attributed by the subgroup of Vegetables (3.5%), Food Products not elsewhere classified (2.8%) and Meat (2.6%).

Among the index of goods which recorded price increases in most states were Small Onion (36.4%), Big Onion (30.5%) and Garlic (28.9%).

The index for Food Away From Home increased 1.5 per cent in April 2020 as against April 2019. The increase in price of Nasi Lemak, Fried Rice and Cooked Beef contributed to the increase of the index of this subgroup. (Table 1)

Table 1: Percentage Change of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages Subgroup

Consumer Price Index by States 

The index for all states decreased between -2.0 to -3.9 per cent in April 2020 as compared to April 2019. The highest decrease was recorded by Kedah & Perlis (-3.9%) followed by Sarawak (-3.8%) and Sabah & Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan (-3.7%).

In contrast, all states registered an increase in the index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages. The highest increase was recorded by Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya (1.8%), Perak (1.8%), Terengganu (1.8%), Johor (1.7%) and Pulau Pinang (1.5%) and it surpassed the national index of 1.2 per cent for Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages in April 2020. (Chart 2)

Chart 2: Percentage Change of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages by State

CPI Without Fuel for Vehicles

CPI without fuel for vehicles is at a positive rate of 0.2 per cent in April 2020 as compared to 1.3 per cent in March 2020. CPI without fuel for vehicles covers all goods and services except RON95, RON97 and Diesel.

Core Index

Core index rose 1.3 per cent in April 2020 as compared to the same month of the previous year. Among the major groups which influenced the increase were Miscellaneous Goods & Services (2.3%), Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (1.9%), Communication (1.6%), Health (1.2%), Education (1.2%) and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (1.1%).

Core index excludes most volatile items of fresh food as well as administered prices of goods and services. (Table 2)

Table 2: Percentage Change of Headline CPI, Seasonally Adjusted Index and
Core Index by Main Group

Annex 1: Average Price for Selected Items in Malaysia, April 2020 (RM)

The pandemic COVID-19 has impacted the collection of consumer prices and the calculation of index as well. Price collection at the selected outlet has been suspended due to extended Movement Control Order (MCO) throughout April 2020. Therefore, alternative source of prices were obtained through online collection, telephone and administrative data.

Released By:

DATO' SRI DR. MOHD UZIR MAHIDIN
CHIEF STATISTICIAN MALAYSIA
DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS, MALAYSIA
 DrUzir_Mahidin      Dr_Uzir

20 May 2020

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