• Inflation ticked higher to +2.9% yoy; 0.7% mom in October
• Food inflation increased constantly; Transport inflation rose higher
• Core inflation rose to +0.7% yoy
• Global inflation elevated but still relatively contained
• Headline inflation to keep trending higher

Malaysia’s CPI ticked higher to 2.9% yoy in October compared to 2.2% yoy in September. This was the ninth straight month of inflation since February 2021 and the fastest in 4 months. The acceleration was attributable to the sustained higher crude oil prices and the expiry electricity bill discounts. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose by 0.7% compared to September’s 0.2% growth.

The increased in the non-food price index was higher at 3.4% (Sep: +2.4%; Aug: +2.4%) while the food price index grew constantly by 1.9% yoy (Sep: +1.9%). CPI without fuel, which covers all goods and services except RON95, RON97 and Diesel, increased faster by 1.5% in October (Sep: +0.9%). Meanwhile, durable goods price increased by 0.6% in October (Sep: +0.2%). The prices of semi-durable goods remained unchanged, declining by -0.3% yoy (Sep: -0.3%), while non-durable goods rose higher by 7.3% yoy (Sep: +5.4%).

CPI for the period of January to October 2021 increased 2.3% compared to the same period last year. The incline was attributed by Transport (+11.0%) followed by Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+1.6%).