Malaysia's Feb CPI rises 0.1% y/y, just below forecast
Shoppers wearing protective masks shop at a market, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia November 6, 2020. REUTERS pic
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's consumer price index (CPI) in February rose for the first time in 12 months, expanding 0.1% from a year earlier on higher prices of food and other goods and services, government data showed on Wednesday.
The rise was slightly slower than the 0.2% annual growth forecast by economists in a Reuters poll and the first since February 2020 when it grew 1.3%. In January, the index had fallen 0.2%.
Last month's CPI expansion was largely driven by higher prices of miscellaneous goods and services, as well as food and non-alcoholic beverages, the Statistics Department said in a statement.
The growth, however, was offset by lower costs of transport, housing, utilities, clothing, and restaurants and hotels, the department said.
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