, Malaysia

Malaysia to grapple with stubbornly high inflation in 2016

Inflation will stay above 3% in the first half.

Inflation in Malaysia is expected to remain high in coming months, on back of a sharply lower base effect from last year and the lingering effects of depressed oil prices.

According to DBS, although the slump in oil prices has caused consumer costs to drop in many regional countries, the case is not quite the same in Malaysia.

“Second order price effects from the introduction of the GST as well as higher imported inflation arising from the weak local currency are probably the reasons behind the elevated CPI figure. And with a bit of low base effect in the coming months, headline CPI inflation will likely stay stubbornly above the 3% level in the first half of 2016,” said DBS. 

However, the elevated inflation figure is purely technical and transient in nature, DBS said. Inflation is expected to ease going into 2H16, but will still deliver a full year average inflation of 2.8%, up from a projected 2.1% for 2015. 

“With growth momentum easing and inflation set to be higher, monetary policy will have to track the middle ground. That is, Bank Negara will continue to maintain a stable monetary policy stance. The central bank is expected to keep the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at 3.25% for the whole of 2016,” said DBS.  

Join Singapore Business Review community
Since you're here...

...there are many ways you can work with us to advertise your company and connect to your customers. Our team can help you dight and create an advertising campaign, in print and digital, on this website and in print magazine.

We can also organize a real life or digital event for you and find thought leader speakers as well as industry leaders, who could be your potential partners, to join the event. We also run some awards programmes which give you an opportunity to be recognized for your achievements during the year and you can join this as a participant or a sponsor.

Let us help you drive your business forward with a good partnership!

Most Read

1. Expert

Top News

Lorem Ipsum text in year 2025
Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC, making it over 2000 years old.
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry.
Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC, making it over 2000 years old. Richard McClintock, a Latin professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, looked up one of the more obscure Latin words, consectetur, from a Lorem Ipsum passage, and going through the cites of the word in classical literature, discovered the undoubtable source. Lorem Ipsum comes from sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum" (The Extremes of Good and Evil) by Cicero, written in 45 BC. This book is a treatise on the theory of ethics, very popular during the Renaissance. The first line of Lorem Ipsum, "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet..", comes from a line in section 1.10.32.

Exclusives

Cropping Issue on Responsive one
Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. 
Artificial Inteliigence Testing
Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. 
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry.
Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC, making it over 2000 years old. Richard McClintock, a Latin professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, looked up one of the more obscure Latin words, consectetur, from a Lorem Ipsum passage, and going through the cites of the word in classical literature, discovered the undoubtable source. Lorem Ipsum comes from sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum" (The Extremes of Good and Evil) by Cicero, written in 45 BC. This book is a treatise on the theory of ethics, very popular during the Renaissance. The first line of Lorem Ipsum, "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet..", comes from a line in section 1.10.32.
Lorem Ipsum Singapore Business Review
The text to display in the title bar of a visitor's web browser when they view this page. This meta tag may also be used as the title of the page when a visitor bookmarks or favorites this page, or as the page title in a search engine result. It is common to append 'Singapore Business Review' to the end of this, so the site's name is automatically added. It is recommended that the title is no greater than 55 - 65 characters long, including spaces.The text to display in the title bar of a visitor's web browser when they view this page. This meta tag may also be used as the title of the page when a visitor bookmarks or favorites this page, or as the page title in a search engine result. It is common to append 'Singapore Business Review' to the end of this, so the site's name is automatically added. It is recommended that the title is no greater than 55 - 65 characters long, including spaces.