Financial News: Malaysia Inflation Eases; Trade Surplus Grows Sharply

Malaysia Inflation Eases; Trade Surplus Grows Sharply

(RTTNews) - Malaysia's consumer price inflation decreased slightly in September, while the trade surplus rose markedly from last year as exports grew faster than imports, according to separate reports from the Department of Statistics released on Monday.

Consumer price inflation eased to 1.8 percent in September from 1.9 percent in the prior month. Moreover, inflation remained within Bank Negara's inflation target range of 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile items, held steady at 1.7 percent.

Inflation based on housing and utilities slowed to 1.4 percent from 2.1 percent in August. Similarly, costs for information communication grew at a weaker pace of 1.8 percent versus 2.6 percent a month ago.

Food and beverages inflation moderated somewhat to 1.8 percent from 1.9 percent, while transport inflation accelerated to 2.5 percent from 2.0 percent.

On a monthly basis, overall consumer prices edged up 0.1 percent in September after rising 0.3 percent in August.

Malaysia's foreign trade surplus climbed to MYR 33.7 billion in September from MYR 20.5 billion in the same month last year. The surplus also grew from MYR 28.1 billion in August. Exports jumped 54.5 percent annually, and imports were 52.7 percent higher.

Increases in both domestic exports and re-exports, which rose by 54.7 percent and 53.7 percent, respectively, mainly contributed to the positive export growth.

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