SHAH ALAM, SEP 21: The Consumer Price Index rose 1.5% in August 2016 compared to the same month last year.
The Malaysian Statistics Department issued a statement stating that among the major groups that recorded increases were Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco by 19.7%; Recreation Services & Culture (+3.6%); Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+3.5%); Miscellaneous Goods & Services (+2.5%); Health (+2.2%); and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+2.1%).
In addition, the overall index is also influenced by the decrease in prices of Transport group by 6.7%; Communication (-2.4%) and Clothing & Footwear (-0.6%).
The index for Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (weight: 30.2) rose 3.5% on a year-on-year basis in August 2016.
The increase was led by increases in four food sub-groups namely, index for Meat (+6.9%); Fish & Seafood (+5.2%); Fruits (+3.9%) and Vegetables (+3.1%).
Meanwhile, the index for Non-Food (weight: 69.8) recorded an increase of 0.6%.
On a monthly basis, CPI for August 2016 increased 0.4% to 115.6 from 115.1.
CPI for the period January to August 2016 registered an increase of 2.3% as compared to the same period last year.
Monthly Changes for CPI
When compared with the previous month, CPI for August 2016 increased 0.4% to 115.6 from 115.1. Of the twelve major groups, seven recorded increases, two registered a decline while three remained unchanged.
Among the main groups that recorded increases were Recreation Services & Culture (+2.1%); Transport (+0.8%); Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+0.4%); Health (+0.3%), Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+0.2%) and Restaurants & Hotel (+0.2%).
The increase of 0.2% in the index for Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages in August 2016 compared with the previous month was due to an increase in the index for Food Away From Home (+0.6%); Coffee, Tea, Cocoa & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+0.3%) and Food At Home by 0.1%.
Among the index of food items which recorded notable increases in August 2016 compared with the previous month were Tomatoes (+6.8%); Spinach (+5.2%); Choy Sam (+4.1%); Watermelon (+3.5%); Hen’s Egg (+3.1%); Indian Mackerel (Fish) (+0.8%) and Prawn (+0.6%).
Meanwhile, decreases were registered in the index of some food items such as Round Cabbage (-7.5%); Carrot (-6.8%); Red Chillies (-5.5%); Cucumber (-4.4%), Long Bean (-2.8%) and Cuttlefish (-2.4%).
CPI Changes by States
Five states recorded higher increases above the national level index for August 2016 compared to the same month in 2015. The five states were Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur (+2.5%); Johor (+1.9%); Penang (+1.7%);
Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya (+1.6%) and Malacca (+1.6%). Meanwhile, the remaining states have recorded an increase at par or lower than the national level index.
Core Inflation
Core inflation, which excludes most volatile items of fresh food, as well as administered prices of goods and services rose 2.0% in July 2016 compared to the same period of the previous year. Among factors contributing to a higher core rate were price increases for Transport (+3.4%); Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+2.6%); Miscellaneous
Goods & Services (+2.4%); Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+2.3%); Education (+2.2%) and Restaurants & Hotels (+2.1%).
Consumers’ Price Index rose 1.5% for August 2016
