Malaysia\u2019s inflation rose 1.4% in February 2018 from a year earlier, mainly due to an increase in prices under the food and non-alcoholic beverages segment in the consumer price index (CPI).<\/p>\n
Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin, chief statistician of the Statistics Department, said in a statement today that the CPI\u2019s food and non-alcoholic beverages segment rose 3%.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmong the main groups, the increases were food and non-alcoholic beverages index (+3%), furnishings, household equipment & routine household maintenance (+2.1%), health (+2.1%), housing, water, electricity, gas & other fuels (+2%), and restaurants & hotels (+1.8%).\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that the overall index was also affected by the drop in the transport group by 0.3% in February 2018. Other groups which also showed decreases were clothing and footwear (-0.7%) and communication (-0.5%).<\/p>\n
For the January-February 2018 period, Uzir said the CPI increased 2% from a year earlier. For January, the department said the CPI rose 2.7% from a year earlier.<\/p>\n