KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.4 percent year-on-year in July, official data showed Wednesday.
Malaysian Statistics Department said in a statement that the increase in the overall index was driven by the index of furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance (3.3 percent), food and non-alcoholic beverages (2.4 percent), recreation services and culture (2.4 percent), alcoholic beverages and tobacco (2.3 percent) and communication (2.1 percent).
On a monthly basis, CPI rose 0.1 percent as compared to June.
Meanwhile, CPI for the period of January to July registered an increase of 0.3 percent as compared to the same period last year.
"The latest inflation data continue to underscore our view that the current pace of economic activity is insufficient to generate meaningful price pressures, a trend that we expect to extend into the coming months," ANZ Research said in a note Wednesday.
The research house therefore, expects that the Overnight Policy Rate to be maintained at 3 percent in 2019 and 2020.