Malaysia S Inflation Eases To 1 3pct In Oct Dosm

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Malaysia’s inflation eased to 1.3 percent in October 2025, down from 1.5 percent in September 2025, according to the Statistics Department (DOSM).
In releasing the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October 2025, DOSM said the moderation was mainly driven by slower price increases in the food and beverages group, which rose 1.5 percent (September 2025: 2.1 percent), and in the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels group, which recorded a 1.1 percent increase (September 2025: 1.5 percent).
Meanwhile, prices rose in personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services by 6.0 percent (September 2025: 4.8 percent); restaurants and accommodation services by 3.4 percent (September 2025: 3.3 percent); health by 1.5 percent (September 2025: 1.3 percent); recreation, sport and culture by 1.2 percent (September 2025: 0.9 percent); and furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance by 0.3 percent (September 2025: 0.2 percent), it said.
In addition, insurance and financial services (5.6 percent), education (2.4 percent) and alcoholic beverages and tobacco (0.3 percent) remained unchanged from September 2025. However, information and communication (-2.4 percent), clothing and footwear (-0.3 percent) and transport (-0.1 percent) recorded declines in October.
ADSAccording to DOSM, core inflation rose to 2.2 percent in October 2025, up from 2.1 percent in September, driven by higher prices in personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services (6.0 percent); restaurants and accommodation services (3.4 percent); health (1.5 percent); recreation, sport and culture (1.2 percent); and furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance (0.3 percent).
Food and beverages (2.5 percent) and transport (2.0 percent) recorded a slower increase compared with the previous month.
DOSM said about 60 percent of items (344 out of 573) recorded price increases. Of these, 335 items (97.4 percent) rose by 10 percent or less, while only nine items increased by more than 10 percent in October 2025. The remaining 181 items (31.6 percent) showed a decline, and 48 items remained unchanged.
“To a certain extent, the prices of administered items have eased the inflation rate in October 2025. Among these items that remained unchanged compared with the same month of the previous year are cooking gas (tank) for domestic use, cigarettes, unleaded petrol RON95 and government hospital medical expenses.
“Meanwhile, several goods showed significant increases, including jewellery of gold (44.3 percent), grated coconuts (27.0 percent), fresh coconut milk (29.2 percent), lemon (22.4 percent) and plumbing services (14.7 percent),” it said.
State level
At the state level, DOSM reported that most states recorded inflation rates below the national rate of 1.3 percent, with Kelantan registering the lowest at 0.1 percent in October 2025.
However, six states recorded inflation above the national level: Johor (1.9 percent), Negeri Sembilan (1.7 percent), Selangor (1.6 percent), Federal Territories Kuala Lumpur (1.6 percent), Malacca (1.4 percent) and Terengganu (1.4 percent).
All states experienced increases in food and beverages prices, with Kelantan recording the lowest at –0.6 percent.
Eight states recorded food and beverage inflation above the national average of 1.5 percent.
These included Negeri Sembilan (2.6 percent), Labuan (2.5 percent), Malacca (2.3 percent), Pahang (2.1 percent), Federal Territories Kuala Lumpur (2.0 percent), Johor (1.9 percent), Selangor (1.7 percent) and Terengganu (1.7 percent), while the remaining states recorded increases equal to or below the national average.
In comparison to selected countries in the Asia Pacific region, inflation in Malaysia (1.3 percent) was lower than the Philippines (1.7 percent), Indonesia (2.9 percent) and South Korea (2.4 percent), but higher than China (0.2 percent).
- Bernama

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