Malaysia's Producer Price Index Up 1.6% in June 2024

Malaysia's Producer Price Index (PPI) rose by 1.6 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in June 2024 from 1.4 per cent in the previous month, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).

In the latest monthly PPI Local Production report, chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said all sectors registered an increase for the fourth consecutive month (since March).

He said the mining sector rose by 4.6 per cent compared with 6.6 per cent in May, contributed by the extraction of natural gas and crude petroleum (up 4.6 per cent and 4.5 per cent, respectively).

The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector climbed to 3.4 per cent from 1.3 per cent in the previous month, contributed by the indices of growing of perennial crops (7.5 per cent) and animal production (1.7 per cent).

The manufacturing sector edged up by 1.1 per cent from 1.0 per cent in May 2024, driven by the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products index (9.2 per cent).

Meanwhile, for the utility sector, the water supply index jumped 7.8 per cent in June 2024 versus 8.7 per cent in May 2024, while the electricity and gas supply index increased by 1.0 per cent compared to 1.5 per in the preceding month.

On a month-on-month basis, Mohd Uzir said the PPI for local production slipped by 0.1 per cent in June 2024 against -0.9 per cent in May 2024 due to lower mining sector of 3.4 per cent (May 2024: -5.5 per cent), attributed to extraction of natural gas (-3.7 per cent) and extraction of crude petroleum (-3.3%) indices.

The chief statistician said the average monthly price for crude palm oil (CPO) was about RM3,960 per tonne in June 2024, up from RM3,900 per tonne in the previous month.

He noted the rise in CPO price was due to the anticipated limited supply from Malaysia and Indonesia towards the end of 2024 coupled with the increase in palm oil exports.