KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's inflation stayed at 1.5% in December 2023, which was in line with street expectations.

       The December 2023 consumer price index (CPI) brought the annual headline inflation in 2023 to 2.5%, as compared to 3.3% in 2022.

       In a statement, the National Statistics Department said the increase in the inflation in December 2023 was driven by lower increases in restaurants and hotels (3.7%), miscellaneous goods and services (2.7%) and food and non-alcoholic beverages (2.3%).

       Other main groups that showed price increases were health (2.5%) and transport (0.3%).

       Core inflation increased at a slower rate of 1.9% in December 2023 as compared to 2% in November 2023 although this remained higher than the overall national inflation rate.

       According to the agency, inflation in Malaysia during the month was lower than inflation in the Philippines (3.9%), Vietnam (3.6%), US (3.4%), South Korea (3.2%), Eurozone (2.9%) and Indonesia (2.6%).

       However, the rate was higher than the CPI in Thailand, which registered a 0.8% contraction and China, which decreased 0.3%.

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       The cost of consumer goods in Malaysia has moderated since hitting a high of 4.7% in August 2022, reaching a recent low of 1.5% in November 2023.