Malaysia Jan CPI higher at 2.4 pct

Fxmarketalerts.com, 23 Feb 2011
Inflation arrived at consensus +2.4% y/y vs 2.2% prev; +0.6% m/m vs +0.4% prev. The higher print was attributed mainly to Food and restaurants, reflecting the pre-CNY demand. Inflation clocked in the highest rate since May '09, and while still tame, is seen to be picking up pace along with other regional countries such as Singapore which recorded its highest in 2 years earlier. Some speculated that BNM may consider raising rates from its current 2.75% to meet rising commodity prices. Link