Malaysia's Sept CPI rises 1.1% y-o-y, slows from August and misses forecast

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia's consumer price index rose 1.1 per cent in September from a year earlier, slowing from the previous month, government data showed on Wednesday.

The annual inflation rate was also below the 1.4 per cent increase forecast by economists in a Reuters poll. Malaysia's CPI was up 1.5 per cent in August.

Inflation in September was higher in nine of the 12 groups tracked in the index, particularly food and beverages, alcohol and tobacco, household equipment, and miscellaneous goods and services, data from the Statistics Department showed.

Costs were down in the transport, clothing and communication sectors, the data showed.

Inflation has remained mild since an unpopular consumption tax was scrapped in June 2018, but Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has said it expected headline inflation to average higher in the second half of this year.

In May, BNM cut its key interest rate for the first time since 2016, amid low inflation and concerns over slowing growth.

REUTERS