Inflation rises 2.2pct, food inflation up 4pct last month
In a statement, chief statistician Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the rise in headline inflation was mainly driven by the 4.0 percent year-on-year increase in food and non-alcoholic beverages.
“Food inflation...
Malaysia’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) in March rose 2.2 percent to 125.6 against 122.9 in March 2021, surpassing the average inflation for the January 2011-March 2022 period which stood at 1.9 percent, said the Statistics Department today.
In a statement, chief statistician Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the rise in headline inflation was mainly driven by the 4.0 percent year-on-year increase in food and non-alcoholic beverages.
“Food inflation remained a major contributor to inflation.
“The 4.0 percent growth in the food and non-alcoholic beverages group was largely due to an increase in the food at home component which rose by 4.3 percent compared to 4.1 percent recorded in February 2022,” he added.
Mohd Uzir said the meat subgroup continued to be the main contributor to food inflation, rising 7.6 percent in March 2022.
“Chicken, the biggest component in the meat subgroup, expanded 10.5 percent, while beef rose by 4.3 percent,” he added.
Meanwhile, the rise in furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance (3.0 percent), restaurants and hotels (2.9 percent), and transport (2.6 percent) had also contributed to the overall CPI.
Miscellaneous goods and services also grew by 1.9 percent, while recreation services and culture expanded by 1.1 percent.
Both the housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels index, as well as education, registered an increase of 0.9 percent, while the alcoholic beverages and tobacco index, as well as health, increased marginally by 0.5 percent and 0.2 per cent, respectively.
On a monthly basis, the March 2022 CPI increased 0.3 percent compared to February 2022, attributed to the growth in transport (1.1 percent) and miscellaneous goods and services (0.6 percent).
Mohd Uzir said all states recorded increases in inflation, with Selangor and Putrajaya rising above the 2.2 percent national inflation level at 2.9 percent.
Core inflation registered an increase of 2.0 percent y-o-y in March 2022, with the transport group recording the highest increase at 3.9 percent.
Other groups which recorded an increase were the food and non-alcoholic beverages group (3.5 percent), furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance (3.0 percent); restaurants and hotels (2.9 percent), miscellaneous goods and services (1.9 percent), and recreation services and culture (1.1 percent).
- Bernama
