KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 6 — Malaysia’s Services Producer Price Index (SPPI) increased 2.9 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, accelerating from the 2.1 per cent growth recorded in the first quarter, driven by higher prices in the hospitality and transport sectors.

The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said the overall index rose to 120.3 points in the April-to-June period, reflecting higher prices charged by domestic service providers across several industries.

Accommodation and food and beverage services recorded the highest increase among the major subsectors, rising 6.4 per cent from a year earlier after growing 5.7 per cent in the previous quarter.

DOSM said the increase was mainly driven by restaurant and mobile food service activities, which rose 5.8 per cent, as well as beverage service activities, which increased 3.1 per cent.

Transportation was the second-fastest growing component, rising 5.6 per cent year-on-year compared with 3.8 per cent in the first quarter, largely due to a 17.5 per cent increase in passenger air transport prices.

Education prices also continued to rise, increasing 2.1 per cent after a 1.9 per cent gain in the previous quarter, supported by higher education and secondary education services.

Other sectors that recorded annual increases included arts, entertainment and recreation and health services, both rising 1.6 per cent, followed by real estate activities at 1.3 per cent and professional services at one per cent.

Information and communication services recorded a more modest increase of 0.3 per cent, supported by data processing, hosting and web portal services, as well as computer programming and consultancy activities.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the SPPI rose 1.1 per cent, easing from the 1.4 per cent increase recorded in the first quarter.

Transportation again led quarterly gains, increasing two per cent, supported by an 11.2 per cent rise in passenger air transport services.

Arts, entertainment and recreation also increased two per cent, while accommodation and food and beverage services rose 1.3 per cent.

Real estate activities increased 0.6 per cent during the quarter, followed by education (0.5 per cent), health (0.3 per cent), information and communication (0.2 per cent) and professional services (0.1 per cent).

The SPPI measures changes in prices received by domestic service providers and serves as an indicator of cost trends across Malaysia’s services sector.

Separately, DOSM said it is continuing the Economic Census 2026, which runs until Oct 31, to collect data from registered and unregistered businesses to better assess the country’s economic performance, structure and characteristics.