KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24 — Malaysia’s headline inflation, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), moderated to 1.8 per cent in October 2023, the lowest since April 2021, with the CPI at 130.9 points against 128.6 in the same month a year ago, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said.

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the rise was driven by a lower increase in the food and non-alcoholic beverages group at 3.6 per cent against 3.9 per cent in September 2023, the furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance group at 1.4 per cent (September 2023: 1.5 per cent) and miscellaneous goods and services at 2.3 per cent against 2.5 per cent the previous month.

Meanwhile, the other main groups that contributed to a lower rise were the alcoholic beverages and tobacco group (0.6 per cent) and clothing and footwear (0.0 per cent) against increases of 0.7 per cent and 0.1 per cent, respectively, in September 2023.

He said in a statement today that the food and non-alcoholic beverages group contributed 29.5 per cent to the total CPI weight.

The food at home component rose 2.1 per cent against 2.5 per cent recorded in the previous month, mainly driven by the subgroup of rice, bread and other cereals at 3.6 per cent (September 2023: 4.1 per cent), while the food away from home component increased slower to 5.6 per cent versus 5.9 per cent in September 2023.

Meanwhile, October’s core inflation, which excludes food and energy, increased slower at 2.4 per cent (September 2023: 2.5 per cent) but surpassed the overall national inflation rate of 1.8 per cent, with the highest increase recorded in food and non-alcoholic beverages at 4.8 per cent.

Malaysia’s October headline inflation is lower than the Philippines which is at 4.9 per cent, South Korea (3.8 per cent), Vietnam (3.6 per cent) and Indonesia’s 2.6 per cent. — Bernama