Overview

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

CPI rose by 0.2 per cent in August 2018, registering the lowest rate within 42 months. This slowdown movement was due to the impact of cost of fuels which caused the index for Transport increased 2.1 per cent as compared to 6.7 per cent recorded in July 2018.

Other than Transport group, an increase of price in Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+2.0 per cent), Education (+1.1 per cent), Restaurants & Hotels (+0.7 per cent) and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+0.4 per cent) also contributed to the increase of CPI August 2018. (Chart 1). 

On a monthly basis, CPI increased 0.2 per cent as compared to July 2018. CPI for the period January-August 2018 registered an increase of 1.3 per cent as compared to the same period last year.

Chart 1: Consumer Price Index (2010=100): Percentage Change by Main Groups, Malaysia, August 2018/August 2017

Index for Sub-Groups Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages

The overall index for Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages which accounted 29.5 per cent in the CPI of weights increased 0.4 per cent in August 2018 and was attributed by the food sub-group index which comprised of Fish & Seafood (+1.5 per cent) and Fruits (+0.6 per cent). Meanwhile, the index for sub-group Meat decreased by 3.1 per cent in August 2018 as compared to August 2017, followed by index for sub-groups Sugar, Jam, Honey, Chocolate & Confectionery (-1.4 per cent), Oils & Fats (-0.8 per cent), Milk & Eggs (-0.7 per cent) and Vegetables (-0.5 per cent). The decrease was due to the index of goods which dropped in most states such as Garlics (-23.0 per cent), Shallots (-6.6 per cent), Chicken (-5.1 per cent), Dried Chilly (-2.4 per cent), Oils (-1.1 per cent) and Potatoes (-0.1 per cent). Meanwhile, the index for Food Away From Home increased 1.7 per cent in August 2018.

Table 1: Consumer Price Index (2010=100): Annual Percentage Change by Sub-Groups Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages, Malaysia, August 2018/August 2017

States Index

In terms of overall CPI, three states surpassed the national CPI rate of 0.2 per cent recorded in August 2018 as compared to August 2017. The states were Negeri Sembilan (+0.6 per cent), Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur (+0.5 per cent) and Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya (+0.3 per cent). Pulau Pinang and Johor showed the same rate as the national CPI.

Meanwhile, the higher increase in the index for Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages was reflected in most states in Malaysia. Two states recorded higher increases for Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages index above the national index level (+0.4 per cent) in August 2018 as compared to the corresponding month in 2017. The index for Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages rose 2.9 per cent in Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur and 0.7 per cent in Sarawak. (Chart 2)

Chart 2: Consumer Price Index (2010=100): Annual Percentage Change for Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages by State, August 2018/August 2017

Core Index

Core inflation decreased 0.2 per cent in August 2018 recorded the same rate as in the previous month. Among the major groups which influenced the lower core rate were price decreases for Communication (-4.0 per cent), Miscellaneous Goods & Services (-3.0 per cent) and Clothing & Footwear (-2.9 per cent). Core inflation, which excludes most volatile items of fresh food, as well as administered prices of goods and services recorded changes ranging from -0.2 per cent to 2.2 per cent for the period January to August 2018 as compared with the same period of the previous year.(Table 2)

Table 2: Consumer Price Index (2010=100): Percentage Change of Headline CPI, Seasonally Adjusted Index and Core Index by Main Groups, Malaysia, August 2018/ August 2017

Annex 1: Average Price for Selected Items in Malaysia, August 2018 (RM) 

Released By:

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

19 September 2018

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