INFLATION remained unchanged at 2% in August, the Statistics Department said today.

In a statement today, it said the August inflation rate was mainly due to the slower growth in restaurants and hotels, which fell to 4.7% from five% in July 2023; food and non-alcoholic beverages (4.1% against 4.4% in July), as well as miscellaneous goods and services which moderated to 2.4% from 2.6% in the previous month.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed 29.5% of total consumer price index (CPI) weight.

It said inflation in the transport sector for August did not see an increase compared to July.

Core inflation moderated to 2.5% in August versus 2.8% in July.

“The highest increase was recorded by the food and non-alcoholic beverages group with a 5.1% increase, followed by the restaurants and hotels group which rose 4.7% and transport (3.6%).

“Meanwhile, miscellaneous goods and services, as well as health increased 2.4%, respectively,” it said.

Compared with other countries, it said inflation in Malaysia was lower than that in the Eurozone (5.3%), the Philippines (5.3%), South Korea (3.4%), Indonesia (3.3%) and Vietnam (3%) but higher than that in Thailand (0.9%) and China (0.1%).

Chief statistician Mohd Uzir Mahidin said seven states saw inflation rise above the national rate. They were Sarawak (3.4%), Putrajaya (2.7%), Perlis (2.4%), Perak (2.3%), Selangor (2.3%), Pahang (2.2%) and Malacca (2.1%).

Headline inflation in August rose marginally to 0.2% against 0.1% in July.

The increase was mainly contributed by housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, which rose 0.5% from no changes in July, as well as health, which increased 0.5% from 0.2% in July. – Bernama, September 22, 2023.