Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia registered an inflation rate of 1.2 per cent in May 2025, marking the lowest level in 51 months, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) standing at 134.4 compared to 132.8 the previous year, according to the Statistics Department Malaysia (DOSM).

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Malaysia’s slower inflation trend aligns with selected countries and regions, including the Eurozone and South Korea, both at 1.9 per cent, as well as Indonesia at 1.6 per cent and the Philippines at 1.3 per cent. This trend is in tandem with a decline in global oil prices. The Producer Price Index also reflected this decline, registering a -3.4 per cent in April 2025.

The mining sector was identified as the main contributor to this trend, with a significant drop of -17.8 per cent due to a fall in crude petroleum extraction by -19.8 per cent. The food and beverages group, which makes up 29.8 per cent of the CPI, saw a slower increase of 2.1 per cent in May 2025 compared to 2.3 per cent in April 2025.

While the food-at-home subgroup remained unchanged from April to May 2025, increasing by 0.5 per cent, the food-away-from-home subgroup recorded a slight increase from 4.3 per cent to 4.4 per cent. Other groups also saw higher increases compared to the previous month, such as restaurant and accommodation services at 3.0 per cent, health at 1.1 per cent, and furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance at 0.2 per cent.

Despite these increases, sectors like information and communication, as well as clothing and footwear, continued to record negative growth rates of -5.2 per cent and -0.2 per cent, respectively. Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin highlighted that 59.7 per cent of items saw price increases, with 96.5 per cent of these items registering an increase of 10 per cent or less.

Diesel prices in May 2025 showed a decelerated increase of 12.4 per cent compared to 15 per cent in April 2025, with the average price in Peninsular Malaysia being RM2.81 per litre. Meanwhile, unleaded petrol RON97 maintained a negative growth rate of -10.4 per cent, with an average price of RM3.11 per litre in May 2025.

Mohd Uzir noted that 11 states recorded inflation increases below the national average of 1.2 per cent, with Kelantan experiencing the lowest rise at 0.3 per cent. Five states, including Johor and Negeri Sembilan, recorded increases above the national level.