Malaysia’s inflation, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), eased further to 2.8 percent in May due to easing food and fuel prices, official data showed Friday.
The food and non-alcoholic beverages group, which accounted for 29.5 percent of the total weight for CPI, recorded a moderate increase of 5.9 percent in May, as compared to 6.3 percent in April, the Department of Statistics Malaysia said in a statement.
Transport, which made up 14.6 percent of the total weight for CPI, also showed a slower increase of 1 percent in May as compared to 2.3 percent in April.
Other than that, furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance also see slower growth. All this, to a certain extent, offset Malaysia’s inflation from continuing to rise higher.
Meanwhile, the monthly headline inflation in May increased at 0.2 percent as against 0.1 percent in April.
Core inflation, which measures changes in the prices of all goods and services, excluding volatile prices of fresh food as well as administered prices of goods by the government, rose slower at 3.5 percent, as compared to 3.6 percent in April.