In February, Malaysia's producer prices saw an increase for the first time in five months, largely driven by a significant boost in mining costs, as exhibited by data from the Department of Statistics released on Wednesday.
Year-on-year, producer prices went up by 0.3 percent in February, overturning a 0.6 percent decline witnessed in January. Looking at the different sectors, February saw manufacturing prices drop by 0.7 percent on an annual basis, while mining prices bounced back with a 5.3 percent increase.
In the utility sector, prices experienced a marginal 0.1 percent increase, whereas the price index for the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sectors grew at a quicker pace, recording a 6.0 percent increase.
Considering the stage of processing, February saw a 5.6 percent increase in prices for crude materials. When examined on a month-on-month basis, producer prices went up by 0.7 percent in February, compared to a dip of 0.1 percent in January.
