Stats Dept: Producer price index rebounds 0.2pc in September 2023 after seven consecutive months of decline 

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 — Malaysia’s producer price index (PPI) rebounded 0.2 per cent in September 2023 against a contraction of 2.2 per cent in August 2023 contributed by all sectors except the manufacturing sector, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM) said.

“This is the first increase after seven consecutive months of decline since February 2023 due to the base effect and higher prices of primary commodities,” it said in a statement today.

On PPI by sector, chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector increased 3.2 per cent in September 2023 versus a decline of one per cent in August 2023 and the mining sector climbed 6.9 per cent against negative 3.8 per cent in the previous month.

He said the electricity and gas supply sector grew 0.5 per cent in September 2023 versus negative 0.1 per cent in August 2023 while the water supply sector slid 0.9 per cent from 2.5 per cent in the previous month.

He said the manufacturing sector remained in the negative territory for five consecutive months by contracting 0.8 per cent in September 2023 from negative 2.3 per cent in August 2023.

Mohd Uzir said in comparison with other countries, the PPI of the United States (US) went up 2.2 per cent in September 2023 from two per cent in August 2023, the highest since April 2023, while Japan’s PPI also expanded two per cent, albeit slowing from an increase of 3.3 per cent in the previous month.

He said China’s producer price continued to decline by 2.5 per cent in September 2023 from a drop of three per cent in the previous month while India’s producer inflation registered a smaller contraction of 0.3 per cent from negative 0.5 per cent in August 2023.

On a monthly basis, Mohd Uzir said the local production went up 0.9 per cent in September 2023 from a flat growth in August 2023, mainly supported by the mining sector, which increased 5.6 per cent from 3.9 per cent in the previous month, the manufacturing sector, which expanded 0.8 per cent against a contraction of 0.2 per cent, as well as the electricity and gas supply sector which improved 0.4 per cent versus negative 0.1 per cent previously.

For the third quarter of 2023 (3Q), he said the PPI remained in the negative territory by contracting 1.4 per cent from a contraction of 4.1 per cent in 2Q attributable to the falls in the mining sector (negative 2.8 per cent) and the manufacturing sector (negative 1.7 per cent).

For the first nine months of 2023, he said the PPI decreased 2.1 per cent year-on-year due to the volatility of Malaysia’s main commodities, particularly palm oil products and crude oil. — Bernama