NOVEMBER 24, 2017 / 12:10 PM / UPDATED 29 MINUTES AGO Malaysia's October inflation rate eases to 3.7 pct y/y, below forecast
Reuters Staff
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Malaysia's annual inflation rate in October was 3.7 percent from a year earlier, government data
showed on Friday, moderating from the previous month and lower than forecasts.
A Reuters poll had predicted inflation at 4.00 percent, below the 4.3 percent expansion seen in September.
Headline inflation reached an eight-year high of 5.1 percent in March, but has since moderated.
October's inflation was driven by higher fuel costs, with the transport index rising 12.1 percent from a year earlier, data from the Statistics
Department showed.
Malaysia's central bank expects 2017 inflation to fall within the higher end of its projected range of 3 to 4 percent.
MALAYSIA CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (base 2010) PERCENTAGE CHANGE
Oct Sept Aug July June May Apr Mar Feb
yr/yr 3.7 4.3 3.7 3.2 3.6 3.9 4.4 5.1 4.5
mth/mth 0.2 0.3 0.9 -0.1 -0.2 -0.2 -0.3 -0.1 3.9
October 2017 (percentage change year-on-year)
Food, non-alcoholic beverages 4.4
Alcoholic beverages, tobacco 0.1
Clothing, footwear -0.4
Housing, water, electricity, fuels 2.4
Furnishings, household equipment 2.6
Health 2.4
Transport 12.1
Communication -0.4
Recreation services, culture 0.4
Education 1.6
Restaurants, hotels 2.7
Miscellaneous goods/services 1.2
Non-food 3.4
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(Reporting by Joseph Sipalan; Editing by Sunil Nair)