Malaysia's September CPI drops 1.4% y/y, more than forecast

Shoppers wearing protective masks walk past some closed shops in a shopping mall, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Kuala Lumpur

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's consumer price index (CPI) fell for the seventh straight month in September, declining 1.4% from a year earlier, government data showed on Wednesday.

The drop was more than the 1.3% decline forecast by 10 economists in a Reuters poll. In August, the index had fallen 1.4%.

September's decline was driven largely by the transport sector index falling 9.9% on-year and lower housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuel prices, the Statistics Department said in a statement.

(Reporting by Liz Lee; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)