Malaysia's annual inflation likely picked up in April

Inflation was likely kept in check by steady fuel prices and a higher base in the year-earlier period, offsetting higher food costs, economists in the survey said. (A woman shops for shoes at a mall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia February 7, 2018. - Reuters)

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's annual inflation rate is expected to have risen to 1.6 percent in April, accelerating slightly from the previous month, a Reuters poll showed on Monday.

Inflation was likely kept in check by steady fuel prices and a higher base in the year-earlier period, offsetting higher food costs, economists in the survey said.

In the first quarter, headline inflation slowed, with the annual rate declining to 1.3 percent in March, the slowest in nearly two years.

Malaysia's central bank left its key interest rate unchanged in its last review, citing a lower inflation rate and steady economic growth, after former premier Najib Razak's long-ruling coalition was ousted in a shock election upset on May 9. - Reuters