“This is the first increase after seven consecutive months of decline since February 2023 due to the base effect and higher prices of primary commodities,” it said in a statement today.
On PPI by sector, chief statistician Uzir Mahidin said the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors increased 3.2% in September 2023 versus a decline of 1% in August 2023 and the mining sector climbed 6.9% against negative 3.8% in the previous month.
He said the electricity and gas supply sector grew 0.5% in September 2023 versus negative 0.1% in August 2023 while the water supply sector slid 0.9% from 2.5% in the previous month.
He said the manufacturing sector remained in the negative territory for five consecutive months by contracting 0.8% in September 2023 from negative 2.3% in August 2023.
Uzir said in comparison with other countries, the PPI of the US went up 2.2% in September 2023 from 2% in August 2023, the highest since April 2023, while Japan’s PPI also expanded 2%, albeit slowing from an increase of 3.3% in the previous month.
He said China’s producer price continued to decline by 2.5% in September 2023 from a drop of 3% in the previous month while India’s producer inflation registered a smaller contraction of 0.3% from negative 0.5% in August 2023.
On a monthly basis, Uzir said the local production went up 0.9% in September 2023 from a flat growth in August 2023, mainly supported by the mining sector, which increased 5.6% from 3.9% in the previous month, the manufacturing sector, which expanded 0.8% against a contraction of 0.2%, as well as the electricity and gas supply sector which improved 0.4% versus negative 0.1% previously.
For the third quarter of 2023 (Q3 2023), he said the PPI remained in the negative territory by contracting 1.4% from a contraction of 4.1% in 2Q attributable to the falls in the mining sector (negative 2.8%) and the manufacturing sector (negative 1.7%).
For the first nine months of 2023, he said the PPI decreased 2.1% year-on-year due to the volatility of Malaysia’s main commodities, particularly palm oil products and crude oil.