Malaysia Jan inflation rate at 3.2 pct y/y, above forecast

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Malaysia's consumer price index

rose 3.2 percent in January from a year earlier, its highest since February last

year, government data showed on Wednesday.

The figure was above the 2.8 percent growth forecast in a Reuters poll, and

above the 1.8 percent rise in December.

January's inflation rate was driven by higher prices of food and housing,

utilities and transport costs, data from the Statistics Department showed.

Annual inflation reached a seven-year peak of 4.2 percent in February 2016,

before moderating as the effects of a goods and services tax imposed in April

2015 faded.

Malaysia's government said in October it expected inflation to remain

between 2 and 3 percent in 2017.

MALAYSIA CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (base 2010) PERCENTAGE CHANGE

Jan Dec Nov Oct Sept Aug July June May Apr Mar Feb

yr/yr 3.2 1.8 1.8 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.1 1.6 2.0 2.1 2.6 4.2

mth/mth 1.1 0.0 1.0 0.3 -0.3 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.4 -0.6 0

January 2017 (percentage change year-on-year)

Food, non-alcoholic beverages 4.0

Alcoholic beverages, tobacco 0.2

Clothing, footwear -0.7

Housing, water, electricity, fuels 1.9

Furnishings, household equipment 1.5

Health 2.5

Transport 8.3

Communication -0.2

Recreation services, culture 3.2

Education 2.0

Restaurants, hotels 2.1

Miscellaneous goods/services 1.4

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(Reporting by Emily Chow; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)