Malaysian Inflation Drops To 2.8%, People Spend Less?

<p>&nbsp;Malaysia's annual inflation rate continued to show a decline in May 2023 with a record of 2.8% from 3.2% recorded in April.</p><p><br /></p><p>It was the lowest reading since May 2022, and down further from the 4.7% peak recorded in August.</p><p><br /></p><p>Meanwhile, core inflation (excluding prices of fresh food and government-controlled goods) rose 3.5%, down from 3.6% in the previous month.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Here are more details on inflation in May:</p><p><br /></p><p>Food and non-alcoholic beverages down to 5.9% from 6.3%</p><p>The transport sector slipped to 1.0% from 2.3%</p><p>The restaurant and hotel sector rose to 6.7% from 6.6%</p><p>Housing care, furniture and home appliances sector decreased to 2.7% from 3.0%</p><p>Other goods and services sector increased to 2.9% from 2.5%</p><p>The recreation and culture sector remained at 1.8%</p><p>Housing, water, electricity, gas and fuel sectors rose to 1.8% from 1.6%</p><p>The education sector increased to 1.9% compared to 1.6%</p><p>Health sector less to 1.9% from 2.1%</p><p>The communications sector fell to -3.7% from -1.4%</p><p>Clothing and footwear fell to 0.4% from 0.5%</p><p>Alcoholic beverages and tobacco rose to 0.7% from 0.6%</p><p>In addition, inflation in urban areas fell to 2.9% compared to 3.3% previously and rural areas also decreased to 2.4% from 2.6% previously.</p><p><br /></p><p>Malaysia continues to record the lowest inflation reading compared to several other countries, Europe (6.1%), the United States (4.0%), the Philippines (6.1%), Indonesia (4.0%) and South Korea (3.3%).</p>