Inflation in Malaysia recorded 1.4% in 2001
Inflation in Malaysia recorded 1.4% in 2001
Associated Press, Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia's recorded an inflation rate of 1.4 percent in 2001,
well within the government's target of below 2 percent, the
government reported Wednesday.
The moderate inflation figure came as Malaysia's economy
received confirmation of more bad news in manufacturing sales,
which slumped 17.2 percent year-on-year in November as the global
slowdown continues to bite.
Economists said the manufacturing sales figure was within
expectations and that they expect a months-long decline to bottom
out soon.
Economists had expected moderate inflation for 2001 in light
of the economic slowdown in Malaysia, the rest of the region and
the United States, the Southeast Asian country's largest trading
partner.
The government's Statistics Department attributed the
inflation rate to higher consumer prices in all categories -
apart from clothing and footwear, as well as recreation and
entertainment, which declined by 2.6 percent and 0.1 percent
respectively.
The consumer price index in December 2001 rose 1.2 percent
from the same month in 2000 and 0.1 percent from November. The
slight on-month rise was attributed to 0.3 percent rise in the
food category and a 0.1 percent increase for medical and health
care expenses.
In November, consumer prices were up 1.5 percent from a year
earlier and 0.8 percent from October.
The manufacturing sales slump followed manufacturing output
data which showed output fell 12.6 percent year-on-year in
October and 7.1 percent in November.
Manufacturing sales in October dropped 12.9 percent on year,
but rose a non-seasonally-adjusted 0.4 percent from September.
November sales fell a non-adjusted 5 percent from October.
Economists have said they expect the declines to bottom out
over November, December and January as there are some signs of
recovery in global demand for electronics, Malaysia's key export.
Like other large exporters of electronics in Asia, Malaysia
has been hard hit by the slowdown, which has pushed some regional
economies into recession.
Thousands of people have lost their jobs in microchip
factories in Singapore and Malaysia as production plummets in
line with falling demand.
Malaysia's statistics agency said that the number of employees
in the manufacturing sector fell 6.2 percent year-on-year to
985,213 people at the end of November 2001.
For the first eleven months of the year, manufacturing sales
fell 6.5 percent to 285.6 billion ringgit (US$75 billion) from
305.3 billion ringgit ($80 billion) in the year-earlier period.