KUALA LUMPUR, July 28 — The Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures price changes at the producer level, went down further by 4.2 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in June, after a 3.6 per cent decline the previous month, said the Statistics Department today.
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said all sectors registered y-o-y declines last month, with the mining and manufacturing sectors emerging as the primary contributors to the index’s overall negative trend.
The mining sector fell by 8 per cent after a 15 per cent contraction in May, affected by the extraction of natural gas (-12 per cent) and extraction of crude petroleum (-6.7 per cent) indices.
At the same time, the manufacturing sector dropped by 4.3 per cent (May: -3 per cent), contributed by significant downturns in the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products (-17.7 per cent) and manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products (-7.8 per cent) indices, he said in a statement today.
The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector also recorded a slight decrease of 0.3 per cent against 1.8 per cent in May, with the animal production index declining by 2.9 per cent.
For the utility sector, both electricity and gas supply and water supply posted marginal decreases of 0.2 per cent last month.
On a month-on-month basis, the PPI for local production recorded a decline of 0.7 per cent in June, following a 1.1 per cent decrease in the previous month, Uzir said.
“The manufacturing sector went down by 1.2 per cent (May: -0.5 per cent) due to the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products (-4.2 per cent) and manufacture of food products (-3 per cent) indices,” he said.
Similarly, the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector declined by 1 per cent (May: -5.4 per cent), weighed down by declines in the growing of perennial crops (-1.2 per cent) and animal production (-0.8 per cent) indices.
In contrast, the mining sector rose by 4.6 per cent, rebounding from a 2.3 per cent contraction in May, mainly driven by the extraction of crude petroleum, which rose by 7 per cent.
Meanwhile, the water supply index edged up by 0.2 per cent, while the electricity and gas supply index decreased by 0.2 per cent in June.
The PPI for local production declined by 3.7 per cent in the second quarter compared with a 0.3 per cent decrease in the first quarter.
The mining sector fell by 13.7 per cent, followed by the manufacturing (-3.4 per cent) and electricity and gas supply (-0.6 per cent) sectors.
However, the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector increased by 1.4 per cent and water supply inched up 0.2 per cent.
Meanwhile, on a quarter-on-quarter basis, the PPI registered a decline of 2.3 per cent, in contrast to the 1 per cent increase recorded in the previous quarter, primarily driven by contractions in the agriculture, forestry and fishing, mining, and manufacturing sectors.
— Bernama
