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KUCHING, Sept 23: Sarawak’s overall inflation rate increased by 3.4 per cent year-on-year (yoy) in August 2023, marking the highest in three months.
According to the latest August 2023 Consumer Price Index (CPI) economic review by the Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Berhad (MIDF) Research, it stated that most notably, housing and utilities’ inflation in Sarawak surged to a new high at 6 per cent yoy.
“We believe this could be attributed by (Bantuan Khas) Sarawakku Sayang (BKSS) electricity bill subsidy which ended in June 2023,” the report said.
As for Peninsular Malaysia, it said that the headline inflation rate remained at close to two-year low at +2.0 per cent yoy, while Sabah’s price growth moderated further to 16-month low at +1.8 per cent yoy.
“The softening pace of food and transport inflation were main downside drivers for the overall inflation across all states (in Malaysia).
“Looking ahead, we foresee further moderation of inflationary pressure in all states due to high-base effect factor and stabilisation of global commodity prices,” the report stated.
Apart from Sarawak, six other states also recorded inflation rates above the national average of 2 per cent, namely Putrajaya, Perlis, Perak, Selangor, Pahang and Melaka , while the other nine states recorded growth below two per cent.
According to a statement by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM) reported in various national dailies yesterday (Sept 22), the August inflation rate was primarily influenced by slower growth in restaurants and hotels, which decreased from 5 per cent in July 2023 to 4.7%.
The food and non-alcoholic beverages category also saw a decline from 4.4 per cent in July 2023 to 4.1 per cent, along with miscellaneous goods and services, which moderated from 2.6 per cent to 2.4 per cent in the previous month.
In comparison to other countries, DoSM said Malaysia’s inflation rate of two percent was lower than that of the Eurozone (5.3 per cent), the Philippines (5.3 per cent), South Korea (3.4 per cent), Indonesia (3.3 per cent) and Vietnam (3 per cent). — DayakDaily
