A report by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) showed Malaysia's annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.5% in February, the slowest increase since January 2024.
A Reuters poll showed the inflation rate eased from 1.7% in January and was in line with the median estimate of 1.5% made by economists.
Core inflation rose 1.9% from 1.8% in January, driven by an increase in personal care and social protection spending.
According to DOSM, out of 573 items in the consumer price index (CPI), the prices of 358 items (62.5%) increased, while 168 items (25.5%) decreased.
DOSM's Head of Statistics, Mohd Uzir Mahidin attributed the moderate inflation to stable prices of items such as cooking gas, fuel and public transport fares.
In Asia-Pacific, Malaysia's inflation rate in February was higher than Indonesia, which recorded its first deflation in more than two decades, and Thailand (1.08%). However, Malaysia's inflation rate was still lower than the Philippines (2.1%) and South Korea (2%).
The eurozone experienced inflation of 2.4% and US inflation was 2.8% in February. – The Business Times
