Malaysia’s inflation eases to 1.8 pct in September

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) — Malaysia’s inflation eased to 1.8 percent in September, official data showed Thursday.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement that the inflation in September was driven by a slower increase in the main groups of personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services (3.1 percent).
This was followed by transport (1.1 percent), alcoholic beverages and tobacco (0.8 percent), furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance (0.6 percent) and information and communication (0.4 percent).
The food and beverages group, which contributes 29.8 percent of the total consumer price index weight, increased by 1.6 percent in September, the same rate as recorded in August.
The overall monthly inflation for September remained unchanged as against in August.
Inflation for the third quarter remained at 1.9 percent.
As for quarter-on-quarter comparison, Malaysia’s inflation increased 0.4 percent. ■