Malaysia's inflation eases to 1.8pct in September as housing, food costs moderate

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's inflation eased to 1.8 per cent in September from 1.9 per cent in August, driven by slower price increases in housing-related costs, food and beverages, personal care and communication services.

The consumer price index (CPI) rose to 137.6 points from 135.2 points a year earlier, according to the Statistics Department.

Inflation in the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels group moderated to 1.4 per cent from 2.1 per cent in August.

This was mainly due to slower price increases in electricity, gas and other fuels, where inflation eased sharply to 0.1 per cent from 3.3 per cent.

Inflation in water supply and miscellaneous services relating to dwellings also slowed to 1.3 per cent from 5.1 per cent.

The moderation in electricity costs followed a revision to the Automatic Fuel Adjustment rate for domestic users in Peninsular Malaysia consuming more than 800 kilowatt-hours (kWh) a month.

The government also expanded electricity bill protection from 600kWh to 800kWh a month for domestic users between Sept 1 and Dec 31, 2026, to ease cost-of-living pressures.

In Sarawak, about 714,000 households are benefiting from a 25 per cent electricity bill discount from April to December this year.

Food and beverages inflation eased to 1.8 per cent from 1.9 per cent in August. The category accounts for 29.8 per cent of the CPI basket.

Inflation for food consumed at home slowed to 1.2 per cent from 1.4 per cent, although food consumed away from home recorded a slightly faster increase of 2.6 per cent compared with 2.5 per cent previously.

Inflation in personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services moderated to 2.8 per cent from 3.2 per cent, while information and communication eased to 1.8 per cent from 2.6 per cent.

Despite the overall moderation, transport inflation accelerated to 2.5 per cent from 2.0 per cent, driven by higher costs associated with operating personal vehicles.

Inflation in the operation of personal transport equipment subgroup rose to 2.7 per cent from 1.8 per cent.

However, inflation in public transport services eased to 7.8 per cent from 10.5 per cent.

Prices in the purchase of vehicles and transport services of goods subgroups continued to decline by 0.6 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively.

The department said average prices of unsubsidised fuels also increased in September.

RON97 petrol rose to RM4.64 per litre from RM4.28 in August, while diesel increased to RM5.05 from RM4.60.

The average market price of RON95 petrol climbed to RM4.16 per litre from RM3.75, compared with the subsidised price of RM1.99 per litre.

The subsidised diesel price remained at RM2.10 per litre.

Eight states and federal territories recorded inflation above the national rate of 1.8 per cent, led by Negri Sembilan and Labuan at 2.4 per cent each.

Johor, Kedah and Putrajaya recorded inflation of 2.2 per cent each, followed by Pahang at 2.1 per cent, and Selangor and Sabah at 1.9 per cent each.

On a month-on-month basis, inflation rose 0.1 per cent in September, compared with 0.3 per cent in August.

For the third quarter of 2026, inflation stood at 1.9 per cent, unchanged from the preceding quarter.

Among the categories recording higher inflation were information and communication at 2.6 per cent, followed by food and beverages and housing-related costs at 1.8 per cent each.

Recreation, sport and culture recorded inflation of 1.2 per cent, while clothing and footwear rose 0.1 per cent.

Other categories recorded slower price increases, including personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services at 3.0 per cent, restaurant and accommodation services at 2.1 per cent, and transport and education at 2.0 per cent each.

Inflation in insurance and financial services stood at 1.1 per cent.