What's getting more expensive in Malaysia?
Inflation by category, where prices are rising fastest, 2026
Malaysia's headline inflation was +2.0% year-on-year as of May 2026, moderate overall, but the squeeze is uneven. Insurance & finance (+4.9%), personal care (+4.8%) and transport (+3.8%) rose fastest, while clothing actually got slightly cheaper.
Price change by category, year-on-year
How much each part of the household basket changed in the year to May 2026. Services and transport are rising fastest; clothing slipped.
What it means
- Overall prices rose +2.0% in the year to May 2026, moderate, and below Malaysia's long-run average.
- The real squeeze is in services: insurance & finance (+4.9%), personal care (+4.8%) and transport (+3.8%) led the gains.
- Everyday food rose a milder +1.4%, and clothing was the only category to get *cheaper* (−0.1%).
- "Headline inflation" is an average, your personal rate depends on what you spend on. A heavy driver feels transport; a renter feels housing.
- Publisher
- Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) · Government, national statistics office
- Document
- Consumer Price Index (CPI), Malaysia
- Published
- 2026
- Source link
- https://open.dosm.gov.my/dashboard/consumer-prices
- Retrieved
- 2026-06-30
- Coverage
- Year-on-year change in the Consumer Price Index by COICOP division, May 2026 vs May 2025. The CPI tracks the average price of a fixed basket of goods and services bought by Malaysian households.
Frequently asked
What is Malaysia's inflation rate?
Malaysia's headline inflation (CPI) was +2.0% year-on-year as of May 2026, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
What is getting more expensive in Malaysia?
In the year to May 2026, insurance & finance (+4.9%), personal care (+4.8%) and transport (+3.8%) rose fastest. Food rose a milder +1.4%, and clothing got slightly cheaper.
What is the CPI?
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the average change over time in the prices Malaysian households pay for a fixed basket of goods and services. DOSM publishes it monthly.
Malaysia, decoded monthly
One email a month, the numbers that run the country, pulled straight from the source. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.