KUALA LUMPUR, July 27 — Malaysia’s Producer Price Index (PPI) decreased further by -4.8 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in June 2023 against -4.6 per cent in May, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) reported today.
The PPI measures the prices of goods at the factory gate.
Chief Statistician Malaysia Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector continued to decline for six consecutive months in 2023, posting a -20.4 per cent (May 2023: -27.2 per cent).
He attributed the slide to the decrease of the oil palm fresh fruit bunches (FFB) index by -34.4 per cent in June 2023.
“The mining sector fell by -16.6 per cent (May 2023: -10.7 per cent), dragged down by the decline in the extraction of crude petroleum index (-23.3 per cent),” Mohd Uzir said in a statement.
At the same time, the manufacturing sector also posted a decrease of -1.8 per cent, where the manufacture of food products index fell by -9.9 per cent.
“However, the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products index rose by 7.5 per cent, explaining the marginal movement of the manufacturing sector,” he said.
Water supply indices went up 3.2 per cent for the utility sector, while the electricity and gas supply indices widened 1.0 per cent.
On a monthly basis, PPI local production decreased by -0.3 per cent in June 2023 (May 2023: -0.4 per cent).
Commenting on the by stage of processing, Mohd Uzir said the crude materials for further processing index continued to decline by -18.7 per cent in June 2023 (May 2023: -20.1 per cent), with the non-food materials index posting a -22.9 per cent.
“The intermediate materials, supplies and components index also recorded a -2.8 per cent due to the decline in the index of materials and components for manufacturing (-6.6 per cent), as well as processed fuel and lubricants (-3.3 per cent).
“Meanwhile, the finished goods index edged up 3.3 per cent due to the increase in capital equipment (4.4 per cent) and finished consumer goods (2.0 per cent),” he said.
In the meantime, Malaysia’s PPI fell by -2.5 per cent for the first half of 2023 compared to the same period last year as the main commodities such as crude oil, natural gas and crude palm oil have continued to drop at a low pace since January 2023.
— Bernama
