Malaysia Feb inflation rate at 4.5% y-o-y, highest in 8 years

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia's consumer price index in February rose to an eight-year high at 4.5 per cent from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday.

The inflation rate is the highest since November 2008 when it hit 5.7 per cent.

February's inflation rate was driven by highest costs of transport and food, data from the Statistics Department showed.

The pace of inflation was above the 4.1 per cent growth forecast in a Reuters poll, and exceeds Malaysia's average inflation target for the year. Annual inflation rose 3.2 per cent in January.

Malaysia's central bank said on Thursday it expected inflation to average between 3 to 4 per cent for 2017.

REUTERS