SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 1.6 per cent in January 2020 to 122.4 as against 120.5 in the same month of the preceding year. The increase in the overall index was driven by the index of Transport (3.9%), Miscellaneous Goods & Services (2.5%), Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (1.7%), Education (1.7%) and Communication (1.5%). (Chart 1)

The higher average price of RON 95 in January 2020 which recorded RM2.08 per litre as compared to RM1.98 in January 2019 had contributed to the increase of the Transport and overall index. In addition, the average price of RON 97 increased to RM2.58 per litre as compared to RM2.28 while Diesel increased to RM2.18 per litre from RM2.12 in corresponding month of the preceding year.

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

On a monthly basis, CPI rose 0.1 per cent as compared to December 2019. The increase was mainly supported by the index of Education (0.4%), Miscellaneous Goods & Services (0.4%), Health (0.2%) and Recreation Services & Culture (0.2%).

Index for Sub-Groups Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages

The index for Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages increased 0.9 per cent in January 2020 as compared to the same month of the previous year. The increase was attributed by the food sub-group of Vegetables (5.7%), Food Products not elsewhere classified (1.8%) and Fish & Seafood (1.2%).

Among the index of goods which recorded price increases in most states were Small Onion (35.1%), Garlic (24.6%) and Big Onion (22.9%).

The index for Food Away From Home increased 1.7 per cent in January 2020 as against January 2019. The increase in price of Shrimp Side Dishes, Burger and Nasi Lemak contributed to the increase of the index of this sub-group. (Table 1)

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

Consumer Price Index by States 

Three states namely Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya (2.1%), Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur (1.8%) and Johor (1.8%) surpassed the national CPI rate of 1.6 per cent in January 2020 as compared to the same month in the preceding year.

All states except Kelantan registered an increase in the index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages. The highest increase was recorded by Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya (1.4%) followed by Johor (1.3%), Pulau Pinang (1.1%), Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur (1.0%) and Perak (1.0%) and it surpassed the national index of 0.9 per cent for Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages in January 2020. (Chart 2)

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

Core Index

Core index rose 1.7 per cent in January 2020 as compared to the same month of the previous year. Among the major groups which influenced the increase were Miscellaneous Goods & Services (2.5%), Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (2.2%), Education (1.7%), Communication (1.5%), Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (1.4%),Transport (1.4%) and Health (1.4%).

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 Groups

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

Released By:

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

21 February 2020

Contact person:

Mohd Yusrizal bin Ab. Razak 
Public Relation Officer
Strategic Communication and International Division
Department of Statistics, Malaysia
Tel : +603-8885 7942
Fax : +603-8888 9248
Email : yusrizal.razak[at]dosm.gov.my