Malaysia: Inflation steady in May
Consumer prices increased 0.2% month-on-month in May, up from April’s stable reading, on higher prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages. In year-on-year terms, consumer prices also ticked up 0.2%, matching April’s figure but slightly below market analysts’ expectations of 0.3%.
Going forward, price pressures will likely intensify somewhat due to the Bank’s monetary easing and a very supportive base effect, due to the zero-rating of the goods and services tax in June 2018.