Malaysia: Consumer prices decline at the fastest pace in five months year-on-year in November
Consumer prices dropped 0.17% on a seasonally-adjusted basis in November, swinging from October’s 0.08% rise and marking the lowest reading since March. November’s decline was chiefly driven by falling prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages.
Meanwhile, consumer prices declined 1.7% year-on-year in November, following October’s 1.5% drop, and marking the sharpest decline since June. Moreover, annual average variation of consumer prices came in at minus 0.9% in November (October: minus 0.7%).
Commenting on the inflation outlook, Julia Goh and Loke Siew Ting, economists at UOB said:
“This deflation trend is expected to reverse course by 1Q21 as consumption induced incentives will lapse at end-Dec 2020, global oil prices are projected to stay above USD50/bbl in 2021, the economic recovery will be on a firmer footing once the vaccination starts to take place in Feb 2021, and the effects of year-ago low base comparison. We reiterate our 2021 full-year inflation target of +2.1%”