Malaysia August inflation rate rises to 1.5% y-o-y, above forecast

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia's consumer price index in August increased 1.5 per cent from a year earlier, faster than the previous month's pace, government data showed on Wednesday.

The figure was slightly above the 1.3 per cent median forecast in a Reuters poll. July's annual rate was 1.1 per cent.

August's higher inflation rate stemmed from increased prices of food, alcoholic beverages and tobacco, which offset lower transportation costs, according to the Statistics Department.

In February, the annual inflation rate reached a seven-year peak of 4.2 per cent, but it has since moderated as the effects of a goods and services tax imposed in April 2015 have faded.

In July, Malaysia's central bank cut its inflation projection for the year to 2-3 per cent from 2.5-3.5 per cent.

REUTERS