The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures headline inflation, increased 0.2 percent in December 2018 to 121.1, compared with 120.9 last year.

Commenting on the report, the Statistics Department's chief statistician Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the increase in the overall index was due to higher price for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (+2.0 percent), restaurants and hotels (+1.3 percent), alcoholic beverages and tobacco (+1.1 percent), education (+1.1 percent) and food and non-alcoholic beverages (+0.7 percent).

“On a monthly basis, the CPI increased 0.1 percent as compared to November 2018. The CPI for January-December 2018 period registered an increase of 1.0 percent as compared to the same period in the previous year,” he said.

On the same note, the Statistics Department also reported that in terms of overall CPI, three states surpassed the national CPI rate of 0.2 percent recorded in December 2018 – Kuala Lumpur (+1.0 percent), Penang (+0.6 percent) and Negeri Sembilan (+0.4 percent).

Selangor and FT Putrajaya recorded the same rate as the national CPI.

Meanwhile, the higher increase in the index for food and non-alcoholic beverages was reflected in most states in Malaysia.

Three states recorded higher increases for food and non-alcoholic beverages index above the national index level (+0.7 percent) in December 2018. 

The index for food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 3.9 percent in Kuala Lumpur, followed by Penang (+1.0 percent) and Negeri Sembilan (+0.8 percent).

Selangor and Putrajaya recorded the same rate as the national index level for food and non-alcoholic beverages, it added.

- Bernama