KUALA LUMPUR: The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is a measure of inflation, rose 2.1 per cent to 116.9 in 2016 compared to 114.8 registered in 2015, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia.
This was following a 3.9 per cent rise in the index for food and non-alcoholic beverages, which carries a weightage of 30.2 per cent to the index.
Other major groups which contributed to the CPI increase were alcoholic beverages and tobacco (+17.2 per cent); miscellaneous goods and services (+2.9 per cent); restaurant and hotels; and health.
In a statement yesterday, the Statistics Department said the increases were, nevertheless, partly offset by the transport group which had dropped 4.6 per cent due to lower prices for petrol.
In December, the CPI rose by 1.8 per cent, following the 3.7 per cent rise in the index for food and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (+2.1 per cent).
However, the transport group decreased slightly by 0.6 per cent compared to the same month last year, the department added.
It said the decline in the transport group was due to the continued drop of 1.5 per cent and 5.5 per cent in November and October 2016, respectively.
The average price of one litre of RON95 petrol was RM1.90 in December 2016, down from RM1.95 in December 2015, while the RON97 petrol price declined to RM2.25 in December 2016 from RM2.30 in the same month last year.— Bernama