Malaysia's inflation eased to 5.7 percent in November from 7.6 percent the month before due to the falling price of fuel, according to official data released today.

The Department of Statistics said the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for January to November had risen by 5.5 percent. Consumer prices rose 2.0 percent on average last year.

The central bank has tipped inflation to average 5.5-6.0 percent this year.

"The November CPI number suggests that inflation risk has subsided, thus giving the central bank greater flexibility to cut rates," Lee Heng Guie, chief economist of CIMB Bank told Dow Jones Newswires.

The government cut fuel prices twice in November as the price of crude plummeted from record highs earlier this year.

There have been another two cuts in December, bringing pump prices down to RM1.80 ringgit per litre.

A 41 percent price hike in June saw prices go up to RM2.70 sparking angry street protests and calls for Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to resign.

June's hike saw inflation soar, with the August price index reaching a 27-year high of 8.5 percent, also driven by the escalating cost of food and transportation.