Headline inflation increased 2.0% year-on-year (y-o-y) in May 2026, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rising to 137.1 compared with 134.4 in the same month last year, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
The increase was supported by higher prices across several major expenditure groups, particularly Information & Communication, Food & Beverages, Housing-related costs, and Recreation activities.
DOSM said Information & Communication inflation rose to 2.1% in May 2026, compared with 2.0% in April 2026, while Food & Beverages increased to 1.4% from 1.2% previously.
The Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels group also recorded a higher inflation rate of 1.2%, up from 1.1% in April, while Recreation, Sport & Culture increased to 1.1% from 0.9%.
Meanwhile, several groups recorded slower inflation growth during the month.
Transport inflation eased to 3.8% in May from 4.1% in April, while Restaurant & Accommodation Services moderated to 2.5% from 2.6%.
Other groups that saw slower increases included Education at 2.2% (April: 2.4%) and Health at 1.2% (April: 1.4%).
Inflation remained unchanged for several categories, including Insurance & Financial Services (4.9%), Personal Care, Social Protection & Miscellaneous Goods & Services (4.8%), Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (2.8%), and Furnishings, Household Equipment & Routine Household Maintenance (0.4%).
The Clothing & Footwear category continued to record a decline, remaining at -0.1% in May 2026.
At the state level, eight states recorded inflation rates above the national average of 2.0%.
The highest inflation rates were recorded in Pahang (2.8%), followed by Negeri Sembilan (2.6%), Federal Territory of Labuan (2.6%), Johor (2.5%), Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur (2.4%), Kedah (2.2%), Federal Territory of Putrajaya (2.2%), and Melaka (2.1%).
Meanwhile, Sarawak recorded the lowest inflation rate at 0.5% in May 2026.
On a month-on-month basis, Malaysia’s headline inflation increased marginally by 0.1% in May 2026, compared with a 0.4% increase in April.
DOSM said six expenditure groups recorded monthly increases, led by Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels, which rose 0.5% after declining 0.1% in April.
The Food & Beverages group increased 0.3%, while Restaurant & Accommodation Services also rose 0.3%.
Other monthly increases were recorded in Furnishings, Household Equipment & Routine Household Maintenance (0.1%), Recreation, Sport & Culture (0.1%), and Education (0.1%).
However, several groups recorded monthly declines, including Transport (-0.5%), Health (-0.1%), and Personal Care, Social Protection & Miscellaneous Goods & Services (-0.1%).
DOSM noted that the remaining groups, including Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco, Clothing & Footwear, Information & Communication, and Insurance & Financial Services, recorded no monthly changes in May 2026.
