Stats Dept: Malaysia’s Producer Price Index eases to -3.0pc in April 2023

KUALA LUMPUR, May 29 — Malaysia’s Producer Price Index (PPI) declined to -3.0 per cent in April 2023 from -2.9 per cent in March 2023, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

The PPI reduction for April was mainly due to the decline in agriculture, forestry and fishing as well as mining sectors, said DOSM in a statement today.

The department said the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector continued to show a negative trend for 10 consecutive months, recording -26.0 per cent compared to -28.7 per cent in March.

Meanwhile, the mining sector also declined by 4.7 per cent in April 2023 from -11.5 per cent in the previous month, due to a decrease in the extraction of crude petroleum index by -12.5 per cent.

On a monthly basis, the PPI for local production posted a marginal increase of 0.2 per cent in April 2023 as compared to 0.3 per cent in the prior month.

The agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector went up 0.8 per cent, attributed to the increase in the growing of perennial crops index (1.1 per cent), while the mining sector posted an increase of 0.5 per cent, in tandem with the increase of extraction of crude petroleum index (1.5 per cent).

The manufacturing sector inched up 0.1 per cent, due to the manufacture of food products (0.9 per cent) and manufacture of chemicals and chemical products (0.7 per cent) indices.

On the other hand, the electricity and gas sector decreased by -0.6 per cent as against 0.5 per cent in the previous month, while the water supply sector remained unchanged.

DOSM also said the volatility of prices, particularly in energy and food products, affected the index of producer prices for most countries.

The PPI of the United States edged up 2.3 per cent after an increase of 2.7 per cent in March 2023, which can be traced in final demand foods, particularly in fresh fruits, melons and eggs for fresh use indices.

However, India’s producer inflation declined by -0.9 per cent (March 2023: 1.3 per cent) for the first time since July 2020, while China’s producer price also continued to slip by -3.6 per cent from -2.5 per cent in the previous month.

Japan’s PPI eased to 5.8 per cent as compared to 7.4 per cent in the previous month. — Bernama