Rising inflation under close watch

“The continued uptick in food and fuel inflation, coupled with the relative surge in core inflation, are likely to receive increasingly more acute attention from the authorities,” said Wellian Wiranto, economist at OCBC Bank, in a report yesterday.

PETALING JAYA: The inflation rate in Malaysia surged by 3.4% on higher food and energy prices, with economists predicting the latest reading would see another hike in the overnight policy rate (OPR) as a response.

OCBC Treasury Research said the latest inflation reading has surpassed its forecast rate and the sustained hike in prices will precipitate Bank Negara to up the OPR two more times by 25 basis points each this year, with the first to come in September and another in November.