CPI Forecast for February 2009
Business Times carried an article on the CPI forecast for February 2009. The table above shows the various forecast by main research houses/ banks.
While the average shows 3.41%, I am just wondering how people measure inflation when the price of things do not go up significantly but the portion does!! E.g. the hawker used to sell a plate of noodles for RM3, it is now still RM3, but the portion is down by 20% – how then?
And the other thing is, with the lower fuel price, prices for food and staples are supposed to follow suit. But then again, if one is willing to pay higher (when fuel prices were higher) for a particular item, what is the motivation for the suppliers to lower their prices, even with the reduced fuel prices? This is particularly true for hawkers, pasar malam sellers etc.
And then there was this minister who asked restaurants/ eatery outlets to lower their prices of Milo since Nestle has lowered the price tag …. did you notice the price of a cup of Milo reduced at the local mamak stall??
So, is this 3.41% for real??
