KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The rate of Malaysia's producer price index (PPI), which measures the prices of goods at the factory gate, declined further to negative 2.9 percent in March as against negative 0.8 percent in February, official data showed Thursday.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia said in a statement the contraction was mainly due to the decline in agriculture, forestry and fishing as well as mining sectors, which continued to record negative changes for three consecutive months in 2023.
On a monthly basis, the PPI for local production inched up 0.3 percent in March as compared to a contraction of 0.2 percent in the previous month.
As for the first quarter, the PPI for local production slipped 0.8 percent due to the decline of agriculture, forestry and fishing as well as mining indices. ■