KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 19 — Malaysia’s inflation eased to 1.8 per cent in September 2026 from 1.9 per cent in the previous month, with the index points rising to 137.6 from 135.2 in September 2025, the Malaysian Statistics Department (DOSM) said.
The growth was driven by the housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels group, which eased to 1.4 per cent compared to 2.1 per cent in August 2026.
It reported that the personal care, social protection, and miscellaneous goods and services group moderated to 2.8 per cent in September 2026, up from 3.2 per cent in August 2026.
“Information and communication, and food and beverages (F&B) groups also eased to 1.8 per cent compared to 2.6 per cent and 1.9 per cent in the previous month, respectively.
"Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance group increased by 0.3 per cent compared to 0.4 per cent in August 2026," DOSM said in a statement today on September 2026’s Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Meanwhile, eight states recorded inflation rates above the national level of 1.8 per cent, led by Negeri Sembilan and Labuan at 2.4 per cent each, followed by Johor, Kedah, and Putrajaya (2.2 per cent each), Pahang (2.1 per cent), and Selangor and Sabah (1.9 per cent each).
All states registered an increase in F&B inflation, except Kelantan, which recorded a decrease.
On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation in September 2026 increased marginally to 0.1 per cent, compared to 0.3 per cent in August 2026.
"Inflation in the personal care, social protection, and miscellaneous goods and services group eased to 0.4 per cent in September 2026 from 0.5 per cent in August 2026.
"This was followed by the restaurant and accommodation services group, which moderated to 0.1 per cent from 0.4 per cent in August 2026," it said.
DOSM added that inflation in both the F&B and health groups also eased to 0.1 per cent in September 2026 from 0.2 per cent in the preceding month.
The housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels group recorded a negative inflation rate of 0.4 per cent, while the furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance group registered -0.1 per cent in September 2026.
