KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 20): Malaysia’s inflation rose to 1.6% year-on-year in December 2025, driven mainly by higher prices for personal care items, education and selected household-related costs, according to official data released on Tuesday (Jan 20). A Bloomberg survey of 16 economists expected inflation to rise by 1.4%.

The consumer price index (CPI), the country’s main gauge of inflation, stood at 135.5 points in December, compared with 133.4 a year earlier, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

For the full year, Malaysia’s inflation averaged 1.4% in 2025, easing from 1.8% in 2024. DOSM said the slower pace was mainly due to more moderate increases in housing-related costs, transport and health, alongside continued price declines in information and communication.

At the state level, five states recorded inflation above the national average of 1.6%, led by Johor (2.3%) and Negeri Sembilan (2.2%). Kelantan recorded the lowest inflation rate at 0.5%. Most states saw higher food and beverage prices, with Negeri Sembilan posting the largest increase at 3.4%.

Food and beverages, which account for nearly 30% of the CPI basket, rose 1.5% in December, unchanged from November. Prices for dining out increased at a slower pace of 2.7%, while food prepared at home rose marginally by 0.3%.

Higher prices were recorded for fish and seafood, meat, oils and fats, fruits and nuts, and sugar-related items, partly offset by continued declines in vegetable prices.

Among protein items, fish and seafood inflation rose to 2.2%, supported by higher prices for commonly consumed fish such as horse mackerel and Indian mackerel. Meat prices increased 0.7% and whole chicken price inflation eased to 0.9%. The average national price of standard chicken stood at RM10.43 per kilogramme in December.

Vegetable prices continued to decline, with onions, garlic and leafy greens among the items recording year-on-year price falls.

Other price increases were led by the personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services group, which rose 5.7%, followed by education at 2.8% and alcoholic beverages and tobacco at 2.5%.

Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels saw inflation edge up to 0.9% from 0.7% previously, while the information and communication category returned to positive territory with a 0.9% increase after registering deflation in November.

By contrast, inflation moderated in several categories, including transport, recreation, sport and culture, as well as restaurant and accommodation services. Food and beverages, insurance and financial services, and health recorded unchanged inflation rates compared with the previous month.

Inflation in housing-related costs accelerated slightly, driven by higher maintenance and repair expenses. Electricity prices remained in deflationary territory, reflecting ongoing rebates under the Automatic Fuel Adjustment mechanism for higher-usage households.

Transport inflation eased to 0.1% as lower costs for goods transport services and personal transport operations partly offset higher public transport fares. Fuel prices were largely stable, with RON97 petrol unchanged at RM3.24 per litre, while diesel prices in Peninsular Malaysia edged lower month-on-month.

On a monthly basis, headline inflation rose 0.3% in December, driven mainly by higher prices in the information and communication and food and beverages groups.

Compared with regional peers, Malaysia’s December inflation was lower than that of Vietnam (3.5%), Indonesia (2.9%) and South Korea (2.3%), but higher than China (0.8%) and Thailand (-0.3%).