Malaysia Dec factory output up 2.7% on year, above forecast

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia's December industrial production rose 2.7 per cent from a year earlier due to positive growth in the manufacturing and electricity production sector, government data showed on Thursday.

The figure was well above the median forecast of 0.8 per cent from a Reuters poll of economists.

But mining sector output fell by 1.5 per cent in December compared to the same month in 2014 due to the decrease in the natural gas index and crude oil index, the data showed.

Output growth in November slipped to 1.8 per cent year-on-year, as global demand weakened and mining production declined.

Malaysia's exports in December grew 1.4 per cent from a year earlier, well below market expectations, due to slumping demand for the country's commodities.

A private manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) showed factory activity in Malaysia contracted for the 10th straight month in January, though at a weaker rate than in December. The index averaged 48.6, its highest reading since May 2015.

REUTERS