KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Producer Price Index, which measures the price changes of goods at the producer level, fell by 2.4 per cent in October 2024, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

The index continued its downward trend after falling 2.1 per cent in September 2024.

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said similar to the previous month, the decrease in October was mainly attributed to the mining sector, which fell by 17.3 per cent (September 2024: -16.1 per cent).

"The index for both crude petroleum extraction and natural gas extraction went down by 21.7 per cent and 1.7 per cent, respectively.

"Apart from that, the manufacturing sector also decreased by 2.6 per cent (September 2024: -1.5 per cent), affected by the index of manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products (-21.6 per cent)," he said.

Meanwhile, Mohd Uzir said the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector went up by 13.8 per cent (September 2024: 5.8 per cent), with the growing of perennial crops index recording an increase of 24.3 per cent.

"For the utility sector, the water supply index increased by 6.9 per cent, while the electricity and gas supply index edged up by 0.8 per cent," he added.

On a month-on-month basis, Mohd Uzir said the PPI for local production decreased by 0.7 per cent in October 2024 (September 2024: -1.5 per cent).

All sectors recorded a decrease except the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector, which went up by 6.0 per cent (September 2024: 1.6 per cent), contributed by the growth of the perennial crops index (9.0 per cent).

Looking at selected countries, the chief statistician said the United States producer price index went up by 2.4 per cent this month as compared to 1.9 per cent in September 2024, particularly due to the final demand index.

He added that Japan's producer price index rose by 3.4 per cent from 3.1 per cent in the previous month, contributed by the cost of agriculture, forestry and fishery products.

Regarding Malaysia's current selected commodity prices, he said according to the World Bank, commodity prices are anticipated to experience a 5.0 per cent decrease in 2025, followed by a 2.0 per cent decline in 2026.

"These projections are primarily influenced by the expected fall in oil prices, although they are moderated by increases in natural gas prices.

Meanwhile, Mohd Uzir noted the crude palm oil prices in Malaysia, which hovered around RM4,400 per tonne in October 2024, saw an increase from an average price of RM4,000 per tonne in the preceding month.

"The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) attributes this rise to market uncertainties and a decline in Malaysia's palm oil inventories.

"These include the inventory levels of palm oil in India as the world's largest importer and the global trends in the production and consumption of vegetable oils in 2025," he said.