Malaysia’s annual inflation rate stood at 1.2% in May 2025, down from figures in the prior two months and the market consensus of 1.4%. It was the lowest reading since February 2021, with food prices rising the least in eight months (2.1% vs 2.3% in April ). Price growth also eased for alcoholic beverages (0.6% vs 0.8%), housing (1.7% vs 2.0%), recreation (0.9% vs 1.3%), education (2.2% vs 2.3%), and miscellaneous items (3.7% vs 4.1%).
In addition, costs fell further for clothing (-0.2% vs -0.1%) and communication (-5.2% vs -4.5%). On the other hand, inflation remained stable for transport (at 0.7%) and financial services (at 1.5%) while accelerating for household maintenance (0.2% vs 0.1%), health (1.1% vs 0.9%), and restaurants (3.0% vs 2.9%). Core consumer prices, excluding volatile fresh food items and administered costs, rose 1.8% yoy, after a 2.0 % gain in April, which marked the steepest pace since November 2023. Monthly, consumer prices edged up 0.1%, the same pace as in April.
