This underlines the theme of declining manufacturing production from export-oriented industries, while domestic-focused sectors continued to expand. On the other hand, the monthly variability in industrial production offered a silver lining, as August’s IPI saw a month-on-month (m-o-m) growth of 2.8% against the 1.8% contraction recorded in July. Malaysia University of Science and Technology Economics professor Geoffrey Williams opined that the IPI data confirms the trend that has been seen for 12 months of slower y-o-y growth. “These declines mirrored the country’s export performance, which had been trending down since March 2023 and recorded an 18.6% decrease in August 2023,” Mohd Uzir added. Similarly, Mohd Uzir said electricity output advanced further by 1.9% y-o-y in August, following a 1.5% growth in the previous month.

Source: The Star October 12, 2023 21:16 UTC