22.02.201905:58:00UTC+00Malaysia Consumer Prices Fall In January

Malaysia's consumer prices fell in January, led by a sharp decline in transport costs, figures from the Department of Statistics showed Friday.

The consumer price index declined 0.7 percent year-on-year in January after a 0.2 percent rise in December.

The decrease in the CPI was driven by a 7.8 percent slump in the transport component, which was mainly due to a fall in the price of petrol.

Among main groups, clothing and footwear prices fell 3.3 percent, followed by miscellaneous goods and services with a 2.4 percent drop. Prices of household equipment fell by 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, utility costs grew 2 percent and prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 1.0 percent.

Compared to the previous month, consumer prices fell 0.5 percent in January.

The core CPI rose 0.2 percent year-on-year in January.