Malaysia's September inflation rate picks up to 4.3% y-o-y, meets forecast

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia's consumer price index in September rose 4.3 per cent from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday, gaining in pace for the second straight month.

The annual inflation rate was in line with the median forecast in a Reuters poll, and up from the 3.7 per cent posted in August.

Headline inflation reached an eight-year high of 5.1 per cent in March, but has since moderated.

September's inflation was driven by higher fuel costs, with the transport index rising 15.8 per cent from a year earlier, data from the Statistics Department showed.

The index for food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 4.6 per cent year-on-year, the data showed.

Malaysia's central bank has set a 2017 inflation target of 3 per cent to 4 per cent.

REUTERS