Malaysias inflation up 2.0% in May

Statistics department says index points rose to 137.1 from 134.4 a year ago.

Chief statistician Uzir Mahidin highlighted four groups in a report in conjunction with the release of the consumer price index (CPI) for May 2026.

He said information and communication saw a rise to 2.1% versus 2.0% in April 2026.

Food and beverages, which contributed 29.8% of the total CPI weightage, rose 1.4% versus 1.2% a month ago, he said.

Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels rose to 1.2% versus 1.1% in the previous month, and recreation, sport, and culture was at 1.1% against 0.9% previously, influenced by inflation in the maintenance, repair, and security of the dwellings subgroup.

The department also noted the automatic fuel adjustment (AFA) revised rate imposed on domestic users in Peninsular Malaysia when consuming more than 600 kilowatt hours (kwh).

The Energy Commission set the AFA rate for May 1 to 31, 2026 at 1.38 sen/kwh (surcharge) compared with a 0.47 sen/kwh rebate for April 1 to 30, 2026.

“This adjustment impacted the average electricity tariff against the previous period. Domestic users consuming 600kwh and below remained unaffected,” it added.

Transportation inflation moderated at 3.8% versus 4.1% in the previous month, and restaurant and accommodation services was 2.5%, slightly down from 2.6% in April 2026.

Education inflation was 2.2% versus 2.4% in April 2026, and health was 1.2% compared with 1.4% a month ago, the report said.

The department said 63.5% of items (364 out of 573 items) recorded an increase in price.

“Nonetheless, out of this total, 355 items (97.5%) registered an increase of less than or equal to 10%, while nine items recorded increases of more than 10% in May,” it said.

A total of 167 items (29.1%) showed a decline and 42 items were unchanged.

In terms of fuel, May 2026’s average price of unleaded RON97 petrol fell to RM4.81 per litre versus RM5.06 the month before.

Diesel’s average price in Peninsular Malaysia was RM5.01 per litre versus RM5.92 in April 2026.

Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan’s average diesel price remained at RM2.15 per litre.

The average market price of unleaded RON95 was RM3.97 per litre against RM4.00 in April 2026. The subsidised price is RM1.99 a litre.

On state-level inflation, Uzir said those with an increase above the national 2.0% level were Pahang (2.8%), Negeri Sembilan (2.6%), Labuan (2.6%), Johor (2.5%), Kuala Lumpur (2.4%), Kedah (2.2%), Putrajaya (2.2%) and Melaka (2.1%).

The rest recorded increases below or equal to the national inflation rate. Sarawak recorded the lowest increase at 0.5% in May 2026.