KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 — The Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures the price changes of goods at the producer level, increased by 1.4 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in May, from 1.9 per cent the previous month, said the Statistics Department.
In the PPI Local Production for May 2024 report, chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said all sectors registered an increase in May, similar with the previous month.
He said the mining sector continued to increase by 6.6 per cent, from a double-digit increase of 10 per cent in the previous month, contributed by extraction of crude petroleum of 7.2 per cent and extraction of natural gas (4.6 per cent) indices.
“The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector went up by 1.3 per cent (April: 5.4 per cent), with the index of animal production and growing of perennial crops up by 3.7 per cent and 3.1 per cent, respectively.
“The manufacturing sector increased further by 1 per cent (April: 0.8 per cent) due to the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products index (9.6 per cent),” Uzir said.
He also said the water supply index went up 8.7 per cent, while the electricity and gas supply index increased by 1.5 per cent.
Uzir said on a monthly basis, the PPI Local Production reduced by 0.9 per cent from an increase of 0.5 per cent in April.
The mining sector declined by 5.5 per cent (April: 2.1 per cent), attributed to the extraction of crude petroleum (-6.8 per cent) and extraction of natural gas (-1.7 per cent) indices.
The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector decreased by 4.6 per cent, from a 0.7 per cent increase in the previous month, largely due to the growing of perennial crops (-7.8 per cent) index.
“The manufacturing sector also contracted marginally by 0.1 per cent (April: 0.3 per cent) due to the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products (-2.5 per cent).
“The electricity and gas supply and water supply indices remained positive, recording increases of 1.1 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively,” he said.
The chief statistician noted the average price of crude palm oil (CPO) was RM3,902.50 per tonne in May 2024. This marked a 2.8 per cent increase from May 2023 but an 8.3 per cent decrease from the April 2024 price.
Citing MIDF research, Uzir said the price momentum subsided earlier than expected, returning to February 2024 prices, on the lower risk of hot, dry weather.
The global production of grain in the 2024/2025 period is projected to rise to 687 million tonnes, an increase of 4 per cent, while soybean oil’s production is 422 million tonnes, an increase of 6 per cent on a yearly basis.
“This will push the price of vegetable oil and soybean oil to a downward trend, including the risk of reduced supply.
“They (MIDF research) also projected CPO prices would be at RM3,600 per tonne throughout 2024, lower than the forecast of around RM3,900 to RM4,200,” Uzir said.
— Bernama
