Overview

Summary Findings

Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined 2.9 per cent in May 2020 to 117.9 as against 121.4 in the same month of the preceding year. The decrease in the overall index was driven by the decline of Transport (-20.8%), Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (-2.6%), Clothing & Footwear (-1.1%) and Furnishings, Household Equipment & Routine Household Maintenance (-0.2%) which contributed 45.7 per cent  to overall weight.

Nevertheless, Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages continued to increase in May 2020 by 1.2 per cent to 134.3 as compared to 132.7 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 2.8 per cent, followed by Communication (1.6%), Health (1.2%) and Education (1.0%).

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

Meanwhile, the CPI for the period of January to May 2020 decreased 0.7 per cent as compared to the same period last year. The decrease was attributed by Transport (-9.1%) and Clothing & Footwear (-1.2%).

Although year-on-year CPI decreased, CPI on a monthly basis increased by 0.3 per cent as compared to April 2020. The increase was attributed by Transport (1.0%), Miscellaneous Goods & Services (0.5%), Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (0.3%), Restaurants & Hotels (0.1%) and Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (0.1%).

Index for Subgroup Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages

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

The index for Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages increased 1.2 per cent in May 2020 as compared to the same month of the previous year. The increase was attributed by the subgroup of Meat (2.7%), Food Products not elsewhere classified (2.6%) and Vegetables (2.4%).

Among the index of goods which recorded price increases in most states were Small Onion (33.6%), Big Onion (27.4%) and Garlic (26.8%).

The index for Food Away From Home increased 1.6 per cent in May 2020 as against May 2019. The increase in price of Nasi Lemak, Fried Rice and Rice with Side Dishes contributed to the increase of the index of this subgroup.

Consumer Price Index by State 

The index for all states decreased between -1.9 to -3.8 per cent in May 2020 as compared to May 2019. The highest decrease was recorded by Sarawak (-3.8%) followed by Kelantan (-3.7%) and Kedah & Perlis (-3.7%).

However, all states registered an increase in the index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages. The highest increase was recorded by Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya (2.1%), Perak (1.8%), Pulau Pinang (1.7%) and Johor (1.3%) and it surpassed the national index of 1.2 per cent for Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages in May 2020.

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

CPI without Fuel 

CPI without fuel is at a positive rate of 0.1 per cent in May 2020 as compared to 0.2 per cent in April 2020. CPI without fuel covers all goods and services except Unleaded Petrol RON95, Unleaded Petrol RON97 and Diesel.

Chart 3: Percentage Change of CPI without Fuel, Jan 2019 - May 2020

Core Index

Core index rose 1.1 per cent in May 2020 as compared to the same month of the previous year. Among the major groups which influenced the increase were Miscellaneous Goods & Services (2.8%), Communication (1.6%) and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (1.4%).

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

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, May 2020 (RM)

Released By:

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

24 June 2020

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