QR Code Link : Type : Newspaper Clipping Subject : Institusi Pengajian Tinggi Main Author : Asila Jalil Title : Malaysia inflation rises 1.7pct in March on higher transport and services costs

Faculty : NSTP Year of Publication : April 17, 2026 HTTP Link : Click to view web link JPG Related Image : Click to view Image file

Abstract :

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's inflation rose 1.7 per cent to 136.4 in March compared to 134.1 last year, according to the Statistics Department. Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said that Malaysia's inflation last month was mainly driven by an increase in the transport group to 1.6 per cent from a decline of 0.7 per cent in February.   The rise in inflation was also contributed to by increases in personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services, which rose seven per cent. Across the groups, the insurance and financial services sector rose to 4.9 per cent from February, alcoholic beverages and tobacco climbed to 2.7 per cent, restaurant and accommodation services inched higher to 2.6 per cent, health climbed to 1.4 per cent, and information and communication rose to 1.4 per cent. Additionally, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels climbed to 1.2 per cent, while the recreation, sport and culture sector rose to 1.0 per cent. Conversely, education moderated to 2.5 per cent, food and beverages dropped to 1.1 per cent, and furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance slipped to 0.1 per cent compared to the previous month.   The monthly headline inflation in March increased to 0.3 per cent as compared to 0.2 per cent in February, while for the first quarter, inflation rose to 1.6 per cent compared to 1.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025. DOSM data showed that 62.5 per cent of items, or 358 out of 573 items, recorded price increases. Nonetheless, out of this total, 348 items or 97.2 per cent registered an increase of less than or equal to 10 per cent, while only 10 items recorded increases of more than 10 per cent in March.   The remaining 171 items showed a decline, and 44 items remained unchanged. The food and beverages group, which contributes 29.8 per cent of the total consumer price index (CPI), posted an inflation rate at 1.1 per cent in March. Expenditure classes of food at home, namely fish and other seafood as well as meat, also eased in March. The expenditure class of meat eased to 0.9 per cent in March as compared to 1.7 per cent in February. This was contributed to by pork and duck, which rose to 3.4 per cent and 0.6 per cent. Chicken, as the largest component in the expenditure class of meat, dropped to 0.3 per cent as compared to 2.5 per cent registered in February. Inflation for the group of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels increased to 1.2 per cent in March as compared to 1.1 per cent in February. At the state level, eight states recorded increases above the national inflation level (1.7 per cent), namely Pahang (2.5 per cent), Labuan (2.4 per cent), Negeri Sembilan (2.2 per cent), Kuala Lumpur (2.2 per cent), Sabah (2.1 per cent), Johor (2.0 per cent), Kedah (1.9 per cent) and Penang (1.8 per cent).

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