Overview

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 1.5 per cent in August 2019 to 121.8 as against 120.0 in the same month of the preceding year. The increase in the overall index was driven by the index of Furnishings, Household Equipment & Routine Household Maintenance (3.2%), Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (2.6%), Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (2.5%), Miscellaneous Goods & Services (2.5%), Recreation Services & Culture (2.3%) and Communication (2.2%). (Chart 1)

On a monthly basis, CPI rose 0.2 per cent as compared to July 2019. It was mainly supported by the index of Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (0.5%), Miscellaneous Goods & Services (0.5%), Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (0.2%), Health (0.2%) and Restaurants & Hotels (0.2%). Meanwhile, CPI for the period of January – August 2019 registered an increase of 0.5 per cent as compared to the same period last year.

Chart 1: Consumer Price Index (2010=100): Percentage Change by Main Groups, Malaysia, August 2019/August 2018

Index for Sub-Groups Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages

The index for Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages increased 2.6 per cent in August 2019 as compared to the same month of the previous year. The increase was attributed by the food sub-group index of Milk & Eggs (3.4%), Vegetables (3.2%) and Fruits (1.7%).

Among the index of goods which recorded price increases in most states were Garlic (16.3%), Fresh Green Chilli (15.2%), Tomatoes (14.5%), Cockles (14.1%), Yoghurt (13.7%), Fresh Red Chilli (13.3%) and Round Cabbage (11.7%).

The index for Food Away From Home increased 4.4 per cent in August 2019 as against August 2018. The rise in the price of Burger, Fried Chicken, Pizza and Sea Food Other Than Fish contributed to the increase of the index of this sub-group. (Table 1)

Table 1: Consumer Price Index (2010=100): Annual Percentage Change by Sub-Groups Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages, Malaysia, August 2019/August 2018

Consumer Price Index by States 

Four states namely Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur (2.4%), Pulau Pinang (2.0%), Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya (1.8%) and Perak (1.6%) surpassed the national CPI rate of 1.5 per cent in August 2019 as compared to August 2018. Meanwhile, Negeri Sembilan showed the same rate of increase as the national CPI.

All states registered increase in the index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages. The highest increases were recorded by Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur (4.7%), Pulau Pinang (3.1%), Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya (2.9%) and Perak (2.7%). The increase surpassed the national index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages in August 2019. (Chart 2)

Chart 2: Consumer Price Index (2010=100): Annual Percentage Change for Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages by State, August 2019/August 2018

Core Index

Core index increased 2.0 per cent in August 2019 as compared to the same month of the previous year. Among the major groups which influenced the higher core rate were Furnishings, Household Equipment & Routine Household Maintenance (3.2%), Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (3.1%), Miscellaneous Goods & Services (2.5%), Recreation Services & Culture (2.3%) and Communication (2.2%).

Core index excludes most volatile items of fresh food as well as administered prices of goods and services. (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 2019/August 2018

Annex 1: Average Price for Selected Items in Malaysia, August 2019 (RM) 

Released By:

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

25 September 2019

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