Malaysia’s Inflation Eases To 1.3 Pct In October 2025 -- DOSM

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 21 (Bernama) -- Malaysia’s inflation eased to 1.3 per cent in October 2025, down from 1.5 per cent in September 2025, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

In releasing the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October 2025, DOSM said the moderation was mainly driven by slower price increases in the food and beverages group, which rose 1.5 per cent (Sept 2025: 2.1 per cent), and in the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels group, which recorded a 1.1 per cent increase (Sept 2025: 1.5 per cent).

Meanwhile, prices rose in personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services by 6.0  per cent (Sept 2025: 4.8 per cent); restaurants and accommodation services by 3.4 per cent (Sept 2025: 3.3 per cent); health by 1.5 per cent (Sept 2025: 1.3 per cent); recreation, sport and culture by 1.2 per cent (Sept 2025: 0.9 per cent); and furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance by 0.3 per cent (Sept 2025: 0.2 per cent), it said.

In addition, insurance and financial services (5.6 per cent), education (2.4 per cent) and alcoholic beverages and tobacco (0.3 per cent) remained unchanged from September 2025. However, information and communication (-2.4 per cent), clothing and footwear (-0.3 per cent) and transport (-0.1 per cent) recorded declines in October.

According to DOSM, core inflation rose to 2.2 per cent in October 2025, up from 2.1 per cent in September, driven by higher prices in personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services (6.0 per cent); restaurants and accommodation services (3.4 per cent); health (1.5 per cent); recreation, sport and culture (1.2 per cent); and furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance (0.3 per cent).

Meanwhile, food and beverages (2.5 per cent) and transport (2.0 per cent) recorded a slower increase compared with the previous month.

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DOSM said about 60 per cent of items (344 out of 573) recorded price increases. Of these, 335 items (97.4 per cent) rose by 10 per cent or less, while only nine items increased by more than 10 per cent in October 2025. The remaining 181 items (31.6 per cent) showed a decline, and 48 items remained unchanged.

“To a certain extent, the prices of administered items have eased the inflation rate in October 2025. Among these items that remained unchanged compared with the same month of the previous year are cooking gas (tank) for domestic use, cigarettes, unleaded petrol RON95 and government hospital medical expenses.

“Meanwhile, several goods showed significant increases, including jewellery of gold (44.3 per cent), grated coconuts (27.0 per cent), fresh coconut milk (29.2 per cent), lemon (22.4 per cent) and plumbing services (14.7 per cent),” it said.

At the state level, DOSM reported that most states recorded inflation rates below the national rate of 1.3 per cent, with Kelantan registering the lowest at 0.1 per cent in October 2025.

However, six states recorded inflation above the national level: Johor (1.9 per cent), Negeri Sembilan (1.7 per cent), Selangor (1.6 per cent), Wilayah Persekutuan (WP) Kuala Lumpur (1.6 per cent), Melaka (1.4 per cent) and Terengganu (1.4 per cent).

All states experienced increases in food and beverages prices, with Kelantan recording the lowest at –0.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, eight states recorded food and beverages inflation above the national average of 1.5 per cent.

These included Negeri Sembilan (2.6 per cent), WP Labuan (2.5 per cent), Melaka (2.3 per cent), Pahang (2.1 per cent), WP Kuala Lumpur (2.0 per cent), Johor (1.9 per cent), Selangor (1.7 per cent) and Terengganu (1.7 per cent), while the remaining states recorded increases equal to or below the national average.

In comparison to selected countries in the Asia Pacific region, inflation in Malaysia (1.3 per cent) was lower than the Philippines (1.7 per cent), Indonesia (2.9 per cent) and South Korea (2.4 per cent), but higher than China (0.2 per cent).

-- BERNAMA