Malaysia: Industrial production strengthens in November
Industrial production expanded 5.0% year-on-year in November, accelerating markedly from October’s 3.4% expansion and coming in slightly above market expectations of 4.6% growth. The robust print suggests that flooding in key manufacturing areas of the country did not derail the economy’s strong performance in the final stretch of 2017.
According to the Statistical Institute, manufacturing production expanded a robust 6.7% from the same month of the previous year in November, the highest rate in three months and above October’s 4.2% rise. All major sub-sectors saw faster rates of output growth compared to the previous month, with petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic production accelerating the most to a 7.5% expansion in November from 2.1% growth in October. Healthy production growth in the manufacturing sector offset a further moderation in mining production, which saw tepid growth of 0.2% in November (October +0.8% year-on-year).
In month-on-month terms, industrial production rose a seasonally-adjusted 1.8% in November (October: -0.8% month-on-month), putting an end to three consecutive months of month-on-month declines. Despite November’s solid outturn, annual average growth in industrial production slipped from 4.8% in October to 4.7% in November.