KUALA LUMPUR (June 24): Malaysia’s consumer inflation in May decelerated to its slowest pace in more than three years as food prices rose more moderately, official data released on Tuesday showed.

The consumer price index — Malaysia’s main gauge of inflation — rose 1.2% in May when compared to the same month in 2024, the Department of Statistics Malaysia said in a statement. The rate was the lowest since February 2021, and was also below the median 1.4% rise predicted in a Bloomberg poll.

The index also rose at a slower pace than April’s 1.4% year-on-year gain. On a month-on-month basis, the index was up 0.1% in May.

The food-and-beverages sub-index, which contributed nearly 30% of the index’s overall weight, increased 2.1% versus 2.3% in April, largely due to increases in the food away from home group.

Other categories registering slower increase in prices in May included personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods-and-services, education, and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels.

However, prices of groups covering restaurant and accommodation, health, and furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance accelerated in May.

Core inflation, which strips out volatile products such as fresh food and excludes price-controlled items, moderated to 1.8% in May from 2.0% in April.

For the whole year, headline inflation is projected to remain within a moderate 2.0% to 3.5% range, thanks to moderating global costs and absence of excessive demand, Bank Negara Malaysia said last week.