Malaysia December CPI Rises 1.6 Pct, Inflation Remains Subdued
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20 (Bernama) -- The slight uptick in Malaysia’s December 2025 consumer price index (CPI) to 1.6 per cent is within normal monthly fluctuations, an academic said.
Sunway University economics professor Dr Yeah Kim Leng noted that the December rise reflects subdued inflationary pressures, with the full-year 2025 inflation rate at 1.4 per cent, down from 1.8 per cent in 2024 and below the 10-year trend of 1.8 per cent.
“With inflation expectations remaining anchored, the CPI is expected to edge up gradually towards the long-term trend, in line with rising cost pressures.
“Low inflation, coupled with minimum wage adjustments, government salary revisions, and cash aid programmes, will support higher household and business purchasing power,” he told Bernama.
Earlier, the Department of Statistics Malaysia reported that the CPI rose 1.6 per cent in December 2025 to 135.5 points, from 133.4 a year earlier, driven by higher costs in personal care, social protection, and miscellaneous goods and services.
Meanwhile, MBSB Investment Bank Bhd (MBSB IB) said inflationary pressures will be shaped by policy measures, fiscal consolidation, targeted subsidy adjustments, and stronger demand.
“Price growth is likely to remain moderate across food, non-food, and core categories, with lower crude oil prices helping to contain broader cost increases,” MBSB IB said in a research note.
Looking ahead, the investment bank expects upward pressure on inflation in 2026, particularly from pass-through effects from small and medium enterprises to consumers and rising demand-pull inflation following previous monetary easing.
Separately, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd noted that while the inflation rate has moderated, prices continue to rise, affecting purchasing power.
“Bank Negara Malaysia has managed to contain inflation by raising the overnight policy rate (OPR) from 1.75 per cent in 2022 to 3.00 per cent in 2023. Without this, inflation and prices would have risen much further,” said chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid.
-- BERNAMA
