KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 — Malaysia’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 2.3 per cent to 124.9 in January 2022 from 122.1 in the same month of the preceding year, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said.
In a statement today, chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the increase surpassed the country’s average inflation for the period of 2011 to January 2022 (1.9 per cent).
“The incline in headline inflation was mainly driven by the increase in the transport group (6.0 per cent) and food and non-alcoholic beverages (3.6 per cent).
“This was followed by furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance (3.1 per cent); restaurants and hotels (2.1 per cent); and recreation services and culture (1.2 per cent),” he said.
Mohd Uzir said the issue of rising food prices such as vegetables, meat and fish, which has been lingering for the past few months due to the direct impact of supply shortages, as well as rising animal feed prices, once again put pressure on food inflation.
He said the increase in food inflation — the largest contributor to the overall weight of the CPI — continued to be a major contributor to the inflation.
The inflation for food and non-alcoholic beverages increased 3.6 per cent in January 2022 compared to the same month of the preceding year.
Food at home, which consist of raw materials for cooking at home, increased 4.1 per cent. Even though the highest increase was recorded for meat (7.8 per cent), the increase in this subgroup was slower than in December 2021 (8.3 per cent).
He said this was due to the decline in the average price of raw chicken in January 2022 (at RM9.48 per kilogramme) compared to RM9.54 in December 2021.
“This was followed by the increase in vegetables (5.0 per cent); milk, cheese and eggs (4.7 per cent); oils and fats (4.6 per cent); and fish and seafood (4.2 per cent).
“Meanwhile, food away from home went up 3.1 per cent and among foods that showed increases were cooked beef (6.3 per cent), cooked vegetables (4.7 per cent), rice with side dishes (4.5 per cent); and satay (3.9 per cent),” he said.
At the same time, the transport group increased 6.0 per cent due to the low-base effect with the setting of the RON95 unleaded petrol ceiling price in March 2021 (RM2.05), which was still high compared to the average price of RM1.87 per litre in January 2021.
In addition, the average price of RON97 unleaded petrol also increased to RM3.06 per litre compared to RM2.17 per litre a year ago.
As for the CPI by states, he noted that all states recorded increases in the CPI with five states showing a rise above the national inflation level of 2.3 per cent.
The highest increase was recorded by Selangor and the Federal Territory of Putrajaya (2.9 per cent); while Sabah and the Federal Territory of Labuan (1.9 per cent), Negeri Sembilan (1.8 per cent), and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur (1.8 per cent) were the three states with the lowest CPI increase.
Mohd Uzir said core inflation registered an increase of 1.6 per cent in January 2022 compared to the same month of the previous year.
The higher increase was recorded by the transport group at 3.3 per cent. In addition, the furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance group recorded an increase of 3.1 per cent, followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages (2.8 per cent), and restaurants and hotels (2.1 per cent).
— Bernama
