[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia's economy grew 4.9 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter, the central bank said on Friday, making it the first major South-east Asian economy to report an acceleration from January-March.

Gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the second quarter beat the 4.8 per cent rise forecast in a Reuters poll, and was quicker than the 4.5 per cent annual pace in the first three months of 2019.

The central bank maintained its full-year growth target of 4.3-4.8 per cent, but said an escalation in global trade tensions could knock 0.1 percentage point off GDP growth.

The current account surplus narrowed to 14.3 billion ringgit (S$4.73 billion) in the second quarter, from 16.4 billion ringgit in the first quarter.

REUTERS