KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s Services Producer Price Index (SPPI) went up 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2021 (Q4 2021) to 110.7 compared to 110.1 in Q4 2020, the Statistics Department said.
The uptrend in the SPPI – which measures the average changes in the price of service charged by the local service industries in Malaysia – was driven by growth in the indices of accommodation and food and beverage service activities (1.5%) and transportation (0.7%).
In a statement today, chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the rise in the restaurants and mobile food service activities (1.8%) and the lifting of travel restrictions as well as the reopening of the tourism sector in mid-September 2021 led to the increase in the accommodation and F&B services index.
As for the transportation subsector, the increase was mainly driven by the higher prices in freight transport by road (1.2%) and passenger air transport (0.8%), he said.
“Other subsectors that also recorded increases are real estate activities (0.6%), education (0.5%), health (0.2%), and professionals (0.1%).
“However, the index for arts, entertainment, and recreation subsector showed a decrease of 0.2%, while the information and communication index remained unchanged,” said Uzir.
He noted that overall, the SPPI increased by 0.3% in 2021, compared to 0.5% in 2020.
In terms of quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q), the SPPI rose by 0.2%, contributed by the transport subsectors (0.8%), accommodation and F&B service activities (0.7%), and real estate activities (0.2%).
He added that the professional, education, and health subsectors registered a marginal increase of 0.1% q-o-q, while the arts, entertainment and recreation index declined by 2.2% q-o-q and the information and communication index remained unchanged. – Bernama, February 7, 2022
