Malaysia's consumer price index (CPI) in September rose 4.3 percent year-on-year, driven by higher fuel prices, Malaysia's statistics department data showed Friday.

The growth rate was up from 3.7 percent posted in August, marking the second month of increases.

According to the government data, transport was the major group that recorded increase for the month. It surged 15.8 percent year-on-year, after rising 11.7 percent in August.

The index for food and non-alcoholic beverages which accounted for 30.2 percent in the CPI weights rose 4.6 percent year-on-year.

Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance grew 2.8 percent; restaurants and hotels increased by 2.6 percent; health went up 2.5 percent; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels grew 2.4 percent.

The government agency also said, the core inflation rose 2.4 percent in September compared with the same month of the previous year.

For the period January to September, CPI was up 4 percent compared from a year earlier. Food and non-alcoholic beverages was the main contributor to the rise in CPI for the period, registering an increase of 4.2 percent.

ANZ Research said in a report Friday that it expects the inflation growth rate to remain around 4 percent in October due to low base effects and higher Brent crude oil prices - around 55 to 60 U.S. dollars per barrel.

The research house's 2017 inflation forecast stands at 3.8 percent, near the upper end of Malaysian central bank's target range of 3 percent to 4 percent.

"The resultant inflationary impact should be limited given the low import content of domestic consumption. Thus, we expect core inflation to stay within a 2 percent to 2.5 percent band for the rest of 2017, with little pressure on Malaysian central bank to hike rate," it said.