Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia's inflation rate for December 2024 has moderated to 1.7 percent, with the index points standing at 133.4 as against 131.2 in the same month of the previous year, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin stated that the increase in inflation for December 2024 was influenced by a slower gain in the main groups of personal care, social protection, and miscellaneous goods and services (3.2 percent), recreation, sport, and culture (1.7 percent), health (1.1 percent), and furnishings, and household equipment and routine household maintenance (0.4 percent).
He highlighted that inflation for restaurant and accommodation services, and food and beverages, grew at a higher rate of 2.9 percent and 2.7 percent compared to 2.8 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively, in November 2024. Inflation for information and communication continued to decline to negative 5.4 percent in December 2024, in contrast to negative 3.9 percent in November 2024.
Clothing and footwear remained in negative territory, posting negative 0.5 percent (November 2024: -0.3 percent). Meanwhile, sectors such as housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (3.2 percent), education (1.5 percent), alcoholic beverages and tobacco (0.8 percent), insurance and financial services (0.5 percent), and transport (0.4 percent) experienced consistent growth rates compared to the previous month.
Regarding inflation at the state level, Mohd Uzir indicated that most states recorded inflation rates below the national level, except for five states that exceeded it: Pulau Pinang (2.6 percent), Pahang (2.3 percent), Selangor (2.0 percent), Johor (1.8 percent), and Sarawak (1.8 percent).
The annual inflation rate for 2024 stood at 1.8 percent, marking a consecutive decline over two years since 2022, which recorded an inflation rate of 3.3 percent. The overall monthly inflation for December 2024 increased by 0.1 percent against November 2024.
Inflation for the fourth quarter of 2024 increased by 1.8 percent, compared to 1.9 percent in the third quarter of 2024. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, Malaysia's inflation showed a 0.2 percent increase (3Q 2024: 0.4 percent).
Mohd Uzir also noted that core inflation dropped to 1.6 percent in December 2024, compared to 1.8 percent in November 2024. When comparing with other selected countries, Malaysia's inflation rate of 1.7 percent was lower than that of Vietnam and the Philippines (both at 2.9 percent), and the Republic of Korea (1.9 percent). However, it was higher than Indonesia (1.6 percent), Thailand (1.2 percent), and China (0.1 percent).