Higher food prices fuel concerns

PETALING JAYA: While the latest inflation data showed that food price increases were a main cause of the higher consumer price index (CPI) in April, the underlying reason for higher inflation has economists thinking that higher interest rates may not send inflation lower.

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that in April, the inflation rate rose gradually as reflected by the higher headline CPI by 2.3% year-on-year (y-o-y) after sustaining at 2.2% for two consecutive months.