Malaysia August factory output picks up 4.9% y-o-y, but misses forecast

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia's August industrial production rose 4.9 per cent from a year earlier, helped by growth in the electricity, manufacturing and mining sectors, government data showed on Wednesday.

Factory output rose at a faster pace than the 4.1 per cent growth in July, but was below economists' expectations of a 5.4 per cent rise.

Electricity output expanded 11.4 per cent from a year earlier, faster than the previous month's 7.1 per cent growth, data from the Statistics Department showed.

Malaysia's exports in August had risen unexpectedly, driven by higher shipments of manufactured goods and rising palm oil prices.

A private manufacturing purchasing managers' index showed Malaysian factory activity in September contracted for the 18th straight month, on declining new orders and an unstable economic climate.

REUTERS