MALAYSIA’S Services Producer Price Index (SPPI) went up 3.4% in the first quarter of 2023 (Q12023) to 114.7 points compared to 110.9 in the same quarter last year, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said.

The index measures changes in producer prices for the local services sector in Malaysia.

Chief statistician of Malaysia, Datuk Sri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin (picture), noted that most subsectors recorded an increase in prices during this quarter.

Accommodation, and food & beverage service activities saw an 8.3% increase (Q4 2022: 8.0%), which was attributed to the increase in restaurants & mobile food service activities (9.8%).

Meanwhile, the transportation subsector increased 6.5% (Q4 2022: 5.3%), which was contributed by passenger air transport (25.6%).

The arts, entertainment & recreation and education indices recorded a 1.1% increase (Q4 2022: 5.3% and 1.1%, respectively) owing to other amusement & recreation activities (1.9%) and secondary education (1.9%).

The professional (0.5%) and health (0.4%) subsectors also recorded an increase. However, the index of real estate activities and information & communication remained unchanged.

Mohd Uzir also stated that the SPPI rose 0.3% quarter-on-quarter compared to 0.4% in the previous quarter. The increase was attributed to accommodation and food & beverage service activities (1.3%), education (0.5%), transportation (0.3%), health (0.2%), and professional (0.1%) indices.

The index of arts, entertainment & recreation recorded a decrease of negative 1.7%, and the indices of real estate activities and information & communication remained unchanged. – TMR / pic TMR File