Ticks up to 1.5% YoY in September on higher food costs and water tariffs
Headline inflation rose 1.5% YoY in September (Aug: 1.3%), in line with house expectations but slightly above market consensus (1.4%)
- The increase was expected. Food prices continued to climb, reflecting the gradual pass-through from the expanded SST and stronger household spending following the RM100 SARA cash aid, most of which was utilised in September. Higher water tariffs and a rebound in transport costs also contributed. Notably, the 14.7% YoY increase in health insurance costs mainly reflected base effects from a one-off 14.2% MoM spike in July, which BNM is addressing to prevent further surges.
- On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.22% (Aug: 0.15%), the fastest in seven months.
- Core inflation edged up to 2.1% YoY (Aug: 2.0%) despite slower monthly growth (0.3%; Aug: 0.37%), driven by costlier core miscellaneous goods and services.
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