KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for June 2015 has increased by 2.5% to 113 year-on-year, as compared with 110.2 in the same month last year.

Figures released by the Department of Statistics today showed the rise in CPI was led by increases in the alcoholic beverages and tobacco group index by 11.3%, health by 5% and miscellaneous goods and services by 4.6%.

The overall index was also influenced by the decrease in transport group by 1.4% and other significant increases in the indices of restaurants & hotels (4.5%), food and non-alcoholic beverages (3.4 %), and furnishing, household equipment and routine household maintenance (3.2%).

June’s CPI also showed a month-on-month increase of 0.6%, with nine of the twelve major groups recording an increase, one registering a decline, and two remaining unchanged.

The transport group recorded the highest increase of 3% last month, while food and non-alcoholic beverages saw an increase of 0.4% with notable increases in the indices of round cabbage (9.3%), shallots (8.2%), and garlic (4.8%).

Conversely, the index of some food items decreased month-on-month, among which were long beans (2.6%), hen’s eggs (2.4%), and round scad fish (2.3%).

For the first half of 2015 (1Q15), the CPI had climbed 1.4% compared with the same period last year, led by increases among the main, high-weighted groups, namely food and non-alcoholic beverages (3.0%) and housing, water, electricity, gas & other fuels (2.3%).

“Overall, the index for food and non-alcoholic beverages, with a weight of 30.3, rose 3.4% on a y-o-y basis in June 2015.

“Meanwhile, the index for non-food, with a weight of 69.7, recorded a slower increase of 2.1%,” the Department of Statistic said.

In terms of the physical longevity of goods, non-durable goods, services and durable goods saw increases of 1.2%, 0.2%, and 0.1% respectively in June. The index for semi-durable goods decreased by 0.3%.