KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Producer Price Index (PPI) for local production increased 12.3% year-on-year (y-o-y) in September 2021, mainly due to a 68.1% y-o-y surge in the mining index.

       In a statement, chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the increase in the PPI was also supported by the growth in the agriculture, forestry and fishing, as well as the manufacturing indices, which expanded by 24.8% and 7.7% y-o-y, respectively.

       However, the electricity and gas supply, as well as water supply indices decreased by 0.2% and 0.8% y-o-y, respectively.

       On a month-on-month (m-o-m) comparison, Mohd Uzir said the PPI rose by 0.4% in September 2021 compared to the previous month.

       “The rebound in petroleum prices and continuous rise in natural gas prices have contributed to the 0.6% rise in the mining index.

       “The manufacturing index moved up 0.4% m-o-m, supported by the higher prices of refined petroleum products,” he said.

       Mohd Uzir also said the agriculture, forestry and fishing index grew at a modest rate of 0.3% m-o-m, due to a slower increase in prices of oil palm fresh fruit bunches.

       Meanwhile, the electricity and gas supply, as well as water supply indices recorded a drop of 0.5% and 0.1% m-o-m, respectively.

       He also noted that the PPI continued to record a double-digit increase of 11.8% y-o-y in the third quarter of 2021, attributing it to the growth in the mining index which rose by 59%, driven by higher petroleum and natural gas prices. — Bernama