KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s inflation rate for November 2024 has decreased to 1.8%, down from 1.9% in October this year, the first decline since August 2021, according to the Statistics Department (DoSM).
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin attributed the decline of inflation to the main group of information and communication, which fell by 2.3%.
“This was followed by the inflation for transport (-0.2%) and clothing and footwear (-0.1%),” he said.
In a statement today, Uzir said core inflation increased at the same rate at 1.8% in November 2024 as compared to October 2024.
“The increase was due to food and beverages (3.7%); personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services (3.4%) and restaurant and accommodation services (2.8%),” he said.
On a yearly basis, Malaysia’s inflation rate for November 2024 has increased to 1.8% from 1.5% in November 2023.
The consumer price index (CPI) for November 2024 inched down to 133.3, compared to 130.9 in the same period last year.
The chief statistician said the increase in inflation in November 2024 was driven by a slower increase in the main groups of health (1.2%) and transport (0.4%), while inflation for food and beverages increased at a higher rate of 2.6% as compared to 2.3% in October 2024.
He said the main group of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels also showed a higher increase in November 2024, at 3.2% compared to 3.1% in the previous month.
“Inflation for information and communication continued to decrease to a negative 3.9% in November 2024 (October 2024: -1.7%) due to the decline in inflation for main subgroup of information and communication services at negative 4.4% (October 2024: -1.8%),” he said.
“Clothing and footwear remained at a negative territory and posted negative 0.3% (October 2024: -0.2%).
“Personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services increased by 3.4%; restaurant and accommodation services (2.8%); and recreation, sport and culture (2.0%),” he said.
Meanwhile, inflation for education grew by 1.5%, followed by alcoholic beverages and tobacco (0.8%).
“Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance (0.5%) and insurance and financial services (0.5%) increased at the same rate as the previous month,” he said.
According to Uzir, inflation in the transport sector eased to 0.4% in November 2024, down from 0.7% in October 2024, primarily due to slower growth in the cost of operating personal transport equipment.
Among the items that recorded a lower increase were car servicing at 5.1% (October 2024: 5.4%), car wash services, 4.6% (October 2024: 4.7%) and repair of motorcycles, 3.2% (October 2024: 3.6%).
In addition, the subgroup of purchases of vehicles recorded a decline at negative 0.6% (October 2024: 0.3%) due to price reductions offered as rebates to new car buyers.
“Inflation for diesel and unleaded petrol RON97 remained at the same rate as the prior month at 15.0% and negative 8.1%, respectively,” he said.
The average price for diesel in Peninsular Malaysia was RM2.95 per litre as compared to RM2.15 per litre in November 2023 (October 2024: RM2.95); however, the average price of diesel for Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan remained at RM2.15 per litre.
Uzir added that the average price of unleaded petrol RON97 in November 2024 was RM3.19 per litre as against RM3.47 per litre in November 2023 (October 2024: RM3.19).
Regarding the inflation at the state level, the chief statistician said that inflation for five states was above the national inflation level of 1.8%, namely Penang (2.9%), Pahang (2.4%), Selangor (2.1%), while inflation in Johor and Sarawak grew by 1.9%.
In comparison to inflation in other selected countries, inflation in Malaysia (1.8%) was lower than Vietnam’s 2.8% and the Philippines at 2.5%.
“However, the rate was higher than Indonesia (1.6%), Republic of Korea (1.5%), Thailand (1.0%) and China (0.2%),” he added. – December 20, 2024
