KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 18): Malaysia’s headline inflation, indicated by the consumer price index (CPI), grew 1.8% to 116.9 year-on-year in December 2016, while the overall inflation rate for 2016 was 2.1%, same as 2015.

In a statement today, the Department of Statistics Malaysia said CPI remained unchanged from November 2016.

For December 2016, the CPI was driven by the increase in food and non-alcoholic beverages (3.7%), and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (2.1%). However, CPI was offset by the decrease in communications by 2.6%, transport (0.6% lower) and clothing and footwear (0.5% down), it added.

The transport group index slipped 0.6% year-on-year, after falling 1.5% in November and 5.5% in October 2016.

The department said the average price of one litre of RON95 petrol was RM1.90 in December 2016, compared with RM1.95 in December 2015.

“As for RON97, the average price declined to RM2.25 in December 2016, from RM2.30 in November 2016. However, the price of RON97 in December 2016 was lower than in December 2015,” it said.

For the full year, CPI’s main upward contributor was from food and non-alcoholic beverages that registered an increase of 3.9%.

The increase was due to the index for food at home that grew 4%, food away from home (3.8%), and coffee, tea, cocoa and non-alcoholic beverages (1.2%).

Core inflation for the year — which excludes most volatile items of fresh food, and administered prices of goods and services — records changes ranging from 2% to 3.6%, compared to the same period in 2015.