KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 17 — Malaysia’s inflation eased to 1.8 per cent in July 2026 from 1.9 per cent in June, with the Consumer Price Index rising to 137.1 points in July from 134.7 a year earlier.
The Malaysian Statistics Department (DOSM) said the transport group drove the increase, although its inflation rate moderated to 1.4 per cent in July from 2.8 per cent in June.
Inflation in personal care, social protection, and miscellaneous goods and services moderated to 2.9 per cent in July from 3.4 per cent in June, followed by restaurant and accommodation services at 2.0 per cent from 2.6 per cent, and education at 2.0 per cent from 2.1 per cent.
“Both insurance and financial services and health groups eased to 1.1 per cent in July 2026, compared with 5.7 per cent and 1.2 per cent in the previous month, respectively.
“Besides, the furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance group increased marginally by 0.3 per cent, compared with 0.4 per cent in June,” it said in a statement.
DOSM added that inflation in the information and communication group rose to 3.4 per cent in July from 2.4 per cent in June, while food and beverages, housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels increased to 1.8 per cent from 1.4 per cent.
Meanwhile, inflation in recreation, sports, and culture rose to 1.2 per cent from 1.1 per cent, while clothing and footwear increased to 0.1 per cent from zero.
“About 65.3 per cent of items, or 374 out of 573, recorded price increases. Of these, 367 items, or 98.1 per cent, registered increases of less than or equal to 10 per cent, while seven items recorded increases of more than 10 per cent in July 2026.
“The remaining 157 items, or 27.4 per cent, showed declines, while 42 items remained unchanged,” it said.
Seven states recorded inflation above the national rate of 1.8 per cent, with Negeri Sembilan recording the highest rate at 2.5 per cent, followed by Kedah and Pahang at 2.3 per cent each, the Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory at 2.2 per cent, Johor at 2.1 per cent, the Labuan Federal Territory at 2.0 per cent, and Sabah at 1.9 per cent.
Food and beverages inflation increased in all states except Kelantan and the Labuan Federal Territory, where it was unchanged.
On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation was unchanged in July, matching the rate recorded in June.
“The food and beverages group increased 0.3 per cent in July 2026, compared with 0.2 per cent in June, while recreation, sport and culture, and restaurant and accommodation services increased marginally by 0.2 per cent each, compared with 0.1 per cent in June,” DOSM said.
Inflation in education increased 0.1 per cent in July, unchanged from the previous month, while transport and personal care, social protection, and miscellaneous goods and services recorded declines of 1.1 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively.
