KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Producer Price Index (PPI) for local production rose 9.2 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in January 2022 from a contraction of 0.1 per cent y-o-y in the same period last year, supported by higher prices of crude oil and palm oil products, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).

       The PPI is a measure of costs of goods at factory gate.

       In a statement today, chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the better performance was supported by the mining index which rose 34.3 per cent from a decline of 28.3 per cent a year earlier, thanks to the crude oil and natural gas prices that increased 33.5 per cent and 39.0 per cent, respectively.

       He said January's performance was also due to a moderate rise in the agriculture, forestry and fishing index, at 12.5 per cent versus an increase of 22.6 per cent in January 2021.

       "The manufacturing index also registered an increase of seven per cent (January 2021: 1.1 per cent), largely due to the increase in the indices of subsectors, namely manufacture of refined petroleum products (19.2 per cent), manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats (17.0 per cent) and manufacture of electronic components and boards (0.4 per cent)," he added.

       Similarly, the indices of water supply as well as electricity and gas supply rose 1.2 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively.

       On a month-on-month (m-o-m) comparison, Mohd Uzir said, the PPI for local production rebounded 1.3 per cent after posting a decline for the first time in 14 months in December 2021.

       "The increase was supported by the marginal incline of 4.5 per cent in the agriculture, forestry and fishing index, mainly attributed to the 7.1 per cent rise in the oil palm fresh fruit bunches price," he said.

       He added that the mining index, which improved 3.1 per cent, also helped to lift the m-o-m performance.

       On the PPI for local production by stage of processing, Mohd Uzir said due to the increase in primary commodities prices, the index of crude materials for further processing surged 18.3 per cent in January 2022 against a decrease of 3.4 per cent in January 2021. - Bernama