Malaysian Inflation Unexpectedly Rises To 1.8%

Malaysia's consumer price inflation increased for the first time in four months in February, largely due to higher utility costs, data from the Department of Statistics showed on Monday.

The consumer price index, or CPI, climbed 1.8 percent year-on-year in February, faster than January's stable rise of 1.5 percent. Meanwhile, economists had expected inflation to remain steady at 1.5 percent.

Utility costs grew at an accelerated pace of 2.7 percent in February versus a 2.0 percent gain a month ago. Similarly, transport costs climbed 1.2 percent after rising 0.7 percent in January.

At the same time, the annual price growth in food and beverages eased slightly to 1.9 percent from 2.0 percent. Clothing and footwear prices were 0.2 percent lower.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices moved up 0.5 percent in February, after a 0.2 percent increase in the prior month.

Separate official data showed that the leading index for Malaysia, which measures future economic activity, improved to 112.0 in January from 108.5 in December.