Malaysia's December factory output rises 1.3% on year

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia's industrial production index rose 1.3 per cent in December from a year earlier, slower than the pace from the prior month as mining activity declined, government data showed on Friday.

The index measures factory output from the manufacturing, mining and electricity generation sectors.

Factory output in December came in lower than the 2 per cent expansion forecast for the month by analysts in a Reuters poll.

Mining output in December fell 4.9 per cent from a year earlier, data from the Statistics Department showed, on declines posted in the crude oil and condensate and natural gas indexes.

Manufacturing output was up 3.4 per cent on-year, while the electricity generation sector grew marginally at 0.9 per cent, the data showed.

Malaysia's exports rose for the first time in five months in December, expanding 2.7 per cent on higher demand for manufactured and agriculture goods.

REUTERS