Malaysia Industrial Output Expands Least In 10 Months

(RTTNews) - Malaysia's industrial output growth eased to a 10-month low in January amid a contraction in the mining sector, figures from the Department of Statistics showed on Wednesday.

Industrial production increased 2.1 percent year-on-year in January, slower than the 4.6 percent increase in the previous month. Production has been rising since January 2024.

Further, this was the weakest growth since March last year, when production had risen the same 2.1 percent.

Among sectors, the annual growth in the manufacturing sector decelerated to 3.7 percent from 5.8 percent in December. Meanwhile, mining production fell 3.1 percent compared to last year, and electricity output was 0.1 percent lower.

On a monthly basis, industrial output rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent compared to last month's 0.3 percent increase.

Separate official data showed that retail sales growth accelerated to an 8-month high of 8.2 percent in January from a 5.4 percent rise in December. Retail sales in non-specialized stores alone grew 9.7 percent, and those of other goods in specialized stores rose by 8.3 percent.