KUALA LUMPUR, July 24 — Malaysia’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) continued to ease in June to 2.4 per cent, the lowest level recorded so far in 2023, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).

Inflation, which came in at 2.8 per cent year-on-year in May, has shown a moderating trend since January when it stood at 3.7 per cent.

In a statement today, chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the slower increment in June was driven by the lower increase in components such as restaurants and hotels (5.4 per cent), food and non-alcoholic beverages (4.7 per cent) and furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance (2.3 per cent).

He said the food and non-alcoholic beverages group, which contributes 29.5 per cent of total CPI weight, increased at a more moderate rate of 4.7 per cent (May 2023: 5.9 per cent).

The component of food at home recorded a slower growth of 3.2 per cent last month compared to 4.3 per cent in May 2023, while the food away from home component’s increase slowed to 6.8 per cent from 8.1 per cent previously.

On state-level inflation, Mohd Uzir said 10 states recorded increases below the national inflation level of 2.4 per cent, with the Labuan federal territory posting the lowest increase of 1.2 per cent in June.

"However, six states recorded increases above the national inflation level, namely Sarawak (3.0 per cent), Pahang (2.9 per cent), Putrajaya (2.8 per cent), Selangor (2.7 per cent), Perak (2.7 per cent) and Melaka (2.7 per cent),” he said.

In comparison to selected countries in the Asia-Pacific region, he said, the inflation rate in Malaysia was lower than that in South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Meanwhile, inflation in the eurozone increased at a slower rate of 5.5 per cent in June 2023 versus 6.1 per cent in the previous month, while inflation in the United States eased to 3.0 per cent against 4.0 per cent in May. — Bernama