Malaysia January CPI increases by 1.3pc

KUALA LUMPUR: The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 1.3 per cent in January compared to the corresponding month last year.

According to the Statistics Department, the index for food and non-alcoholic beverages and non-food showed increases of 2.2 per cent and one per cent, respectively, compared to a year ago.

The CPI increased to 105.9 compared with 104.5 in the same month last year. It increased by 0.4 per cent when compared with December 2012.

Economists polled by the Business Times expect the official barometer to tick upwards in the second half of the year on the back of a strong domestic demand.

Alliance Research said with the CPI remaining modest at 1.3 per cent in January, anticipated reforms such as minimum wages and subsidy rationalisation may likely push inflation to 2.5 per cent in 2013, from 1.7 per cent in 2012. "With growth remaining firm amid low inflation, we expect the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) to remain steady at three per cent in 2013."