Inflation accelerated to 1.9% year-on-year in August 2026 from 1.8% in July, driven mainly by higher transport and electricity-related costs, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased to 137.5 points from 134.9 a year earlier, while on a month-on-month basis, headline inflation rose 0.3% after remaining unchanged in July.
Transport inflation accelerated to 2.0% from 1.4% in July, with public transport services jumping 10.5% and the operation of personal transport equipment increasing 1.8%.
Fuel prices also moved higher during the month. The average price of RON97 rose to RM4.28 per litre from RM4.07 in July, while the market price of diesel increased to RM4.60 from RM4.14.
The average market price of RON95 increased to RM3.75 per litre from RM3.47, compared with the subsidised price of RM1.99 per litre. Diesel’s subsidised price remained at RM2.10 per litre.
Inflation for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels increased to 2.1% from 1.8% in July, largely due to a 3.3% rise in the electricity, gas and fuel subgroup compared with 2.0% previously.
DOSM attributed the increase partly to the revision in the Automatic Fuel Adjustment (AFA) imposed on domestic users in Peninsular Malaysia consuming more than 600kWh of electricity.
In Sarawak, however, domestic users continued to receive a 25% electricity bill discount from April through December 2026, benefiting about 714,000 households under the state government’s financial relief initiative.
Food and beverages, which account for 29.8% of the CPI basket, recorded inflation of 1.9%, slightly higher than July’s 1.8%. Food at home inflation increased to 1.4% from 1.2%, while food away from home remained at 2.5%.
Other categories recording higher inflation included personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services at 3.2%, alcoholic beverages and tobacco at 2.8%, restaurant and accommodation services at 2.1%, and health at 1.3%.
By contrast, information and communication inflation moderated to 2.6% from 3.4%, while education eased to 1.9% and recreation, sport and culture to 1.1%.
Nine states recorded inflation above the national rate, led by Negeri Sembilan at 2.5%, followed by Johor, Kedah, Pahang and Labuan at 2.3% each.
Selangor and Kuala Lumpur recorded inflation of 2.1%, while Melaka and Putrajaya registered 2.0%.
On a month-on-month basis, the 0.3% increase in headline inflation was driven mainly by transport, which rose 0.6%, personal care and miscellaneous goods and services at 0.5%, and housing and utilities as well as restaurant and accommodation services at 0.4% each.
