Kuala lumpur: Malaysia's inflation eased to 1.8 percent in July 2026 from 1.9 percent in June, with the Consumer Price Index rising to 137.1 points in July from 134.7 a year earlier, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said. The transport group was noted as a key driver of the increase, though its inflation rate moderated to 1.4 percent in July from 2.8 percent in June.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, inflation in personal care, social protection, and miscellaneous goods and services moderated to 2.9 percent in July from 3.4 percent in June. This was followed by a decline in the inflation rate for restaurant and accommodation services to 2.0 percent from 2.6 percent, and education at 2.0 percent from 2.1 percent. Both insurance and financial services, and health groups saw easing, dropping to 1.1 percent in July 2026 compared with 5.7 percent and 1.2 percent in the previous month, respectively.

Meanwhile, the furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance group experienced a marginal increase of 0.3 percent compared with 0.4 percent in June. The inflation in the information and communication group rose to 3.4 percent in July from 2.4 percent in June, while sectors such as food and beverages, and housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels increased to 1.8 percent from 1.4 percent.

Recreation, sport, and culture inflation rose slightly to 1.2 percent from 1.1 percent, while clothing and footwear saw an increase to 0.1 percent from zero. Approximately 65.3 percent of items, or 374 out of 573, recorded price increases, with 98.1 percent of these increases being less than or equal to 10 percent, and seven items showing increases of more than 10 percent in July 2026.

The report highlighted that seven states recorded inflation above the national rate of 1.8 percent, with Negeri Sembilan registering the highest rate at 2.5 percent. This was followed closely by Kedah and Pahang at 2.3 percent each, the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur at 2.2 percent, Johor at 2.1 percent, the Federal Territory of Labuan at 2.0 percent, and Sabah at 1.9 percent. Food and beverages inflation increased in all states except Kelantan and the Federal Territory of Labuan, where it remained unchanged.

On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation remained unchanged in July, matching the rate recorded in June. The food and beverages group saw a 0.3 percent increase in July 2026 compared with 0.2 percent in June. In contrast, recreation, sport, and culture, along with restaurant and accommodation services, increased marginally by 0.2 percent each, compared with 0.1 percent in June. Education inflation increased by 0.1 percent in July, unchanged from the previous month, while both transport and personal care, social protection, and miscellaneous goods and services recorded declines of 1.1 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.