November CPI up 1.8% from last year

PETALING JAYA: The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for November 2016 increased by 1.8% to 116.9 compared with 114.8 in the same month last year, according to the Statistics Department.
Data from the department showed increase in prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages (3.8%) and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (2.1%), which were offset by lower communication (down 2.7%); transport (1.5%) and communication (0.5%) costs.
Among the index of food items which recorded significant increases during the month, compared to the same period last year was cooking oil, which increased by 45.6% year-over-year.
The increase in prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages was reflected in each state in the country especially those in highly urbanised states, including Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Putrajaya, Penang, Johor and Malacca.
The CPI for January to November 2016 registered an increase of 2.1% compared to the same period last year.
The index for food and non-alcoholic beverages were the main upward contributor to the CPI rise in the period January to November 2016, registered an increase of 3.9%.
Based on a seasonally adjusted term, the overall CPI for November 2016 increased by 1% as compared to October 2016, while core inflation rose 2.2% in November 2016 compared to the same month of the previous year.