Malaysia's June factory output up 4.3% y-o-y, slightly below forecast

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia's June industrial production rose 4.3 per cent from a year earlier, slightly short of market predictions due to lower electricity demand, data from the Statistics Department showed on Monday.

A Reuters poll of economists had forecast annual factory output would expand 4.4 per cent, compared with May's 4.5 per cent which surpassed expectations.

Government data earlier indicated that June's exports unexpectedly grew 5.0 per cent from a year earlier, a sharp rise from May's decline of 6.7 per cent, as shipments to China surged to its highest level since January 2014.

Malaysia's manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index for July, however, showed slowing growth momentum due to soft domestic demand, as it held below 50 for the fourth consecutive month.

REUTERS