Kuala lumpur: Malaysia's inflation rose 1.6 percent in December 2025, with the consumer price index reaching 135.5 points compared to 133.4 points a year earlier, as reported by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the increase was driven by higher inflation across various groups, notably personal care, social protection, and miscellaneous goods and services, which rose 5.7 percent from 5.6 percent in November. Education costs also climbed to 2.8 percent from 2.6 percent previously, while prices for alcoholic beverages and tobacco increased 2.5 percent from 2.4 percent in November.

In other sectors, housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels saw a rise of 0.9 percent, up from 0.7 percent in November 2025. Information and communication grew by 0.9 percent, reversing a decline of 1.3 percent from the previous month. Furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance increased by 0.3 percent, compared to 0.2 percent in November, and clothing and footwear edged up 0.1 percent after a decline of 0.1 percent in November.

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin noted that in December, 62.8 percent of the items, or 360 out of 573, registered price changes. Of these, 350 items, or 97.2 percent, saw an increase of less than or equal to 10 percent, while only 10 items recorded increases of more than 10 percent. A total of 172 items, or 30 percent, showed a decline, and 41 items remained unchanged.

Further insights from DOSM indicated that the average price of RON97 petrol remained unchanged at RM3.24 per litre in December, while the average price for diesel in Peninsular Malaysia was RM3.03 per litre, slightly down from RM3.05 per litre in November 2025. However, in Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan, the average diesel price remained steady at RM2.15 per litre.

At the state level, five states recorded inflation increases above the national level of 1.6 percent, including Johor (2.3 percent), Negeri Sembilan (2.2 percent), Pahang (1.8 percent), Labuan (1.8 percent), and Selangor (1.7 percent). Meanwhile, Kelantan recorded the lowest inflation of 0.5 percent in December.

In comparison to regional peers, Malaysia's inflation rate of 1.6 percent was lower than Vietnam's 3.5 percent, Indonesia's 2.9 percent, and South Korea's 2.3 percent, yet higher than China's 0.8 percent and Thailand's -0.3 percent.