Malaysia's Feb inflation rate at 1.4%, below forecast

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia's consumer price index in February rose 1.4 per cent from a year earlier, government data showed on Wednesday.

February's annual inflation rate was below the 1.9 per cent forecast in a Reuters poll, and well below the 2.7 per cent posted in January.

Inflation in February was largely driven by higher food prices but transports costs were lower, data from the Statistics Department showed.

Headline inflation has moderated after staying above 3 per cent every month in 2017, peaking at 5.1 per cent in March.

Malaysia's central bank left its key interest rate unchanged earlier this month, after hiking it for the first time in over three years in January, as inflationary pressures eased.

REUTERS

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