Malaysia Jan factory output up 3.5% y-o-y, below forecast

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia's industrial production in January rose 3.5 per cent from a year earlier, slowing in pace for the second month in a row, government data showed on Monday.

Factory output was below the 5.7 per cent rise forecast in a Reuters poll, and down from the 4.7 per cent increase in December.

The expansion was supported by strength in the manufacturing, mining, and electricity sectors, data from the Statistics Department showed.

Manufacturing output rose 4.6 per cent year-on-year, helped by strong growth in the food and electronic products sub-sectors.

Malaysia's exports in January expanded at its fastest pace in more than a year due to strong demand for commodities and manufactured goods.

A private manufacturing purchasing managers' index showed Malaysian factory activity contracting again in February, but at its softest pace since May 2015 as output rose for the first time in nearly two years.

REUTERS