FILE PHOTO – A woman shops in a wet market in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, February 18, 2016. REUTERS/Olivia Harris/File Photo
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia’s annual inflation rate is expected to have risen to 0.9 percent in July, marginally faster than the previous month, a Reuters poll showed.
Transport costs were expected to rise slightly in July on higher fuel prices, but overall inflation likely remained subdued due to the government’s removal of a 6 percent goods and services tax in June, said economists in the survey that was conducted on Tuesday.
Annual inflation hit a three-year low of 0.8 percent in June following the abolishment of the tax.
Malaysia’s central bank left its key interest rate <MYINTR=ECI> unchanged in its July 11 review, citing slowing inflation and steady economic growth.
Headline inflation slowed to 1.3 percent in the second quarter and was expected to moderate further throughout the year.
(This story has been refilled to correct to remove extraneous word ‘compare’ from paragraph 2)
(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Vyas Mohan)
