KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 – The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) reported that the country’s leading index (LI), which forecasts significant business cycle turning points and near-term economic direction, continued its positive growth streak for four consecutive months. The index rose to 112.2 points in March, up from 109.7 points the previous year.
The robust performance of the Bursa Malaysia industrial index (+25.4%yoy) and real imports of other basic precious and non-ferrous metals (+24.8%yoy) contributed to the LI’s faster growth of +2.3%yoy in March (Feb-24: +2.1%yoy). However, the LI declined by -0.5%mom (Feb-24: +0.5%mom) due to a decrease in the number of approved housing units, which negatively impacted the overall change by -0.7%.
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Optimistic Economic Growth
Current economic conditions showed further improvement as the Coincident Index (CI) rose by +2.3%yoy (Feb-24: +1.9%yoy) with four positive contributing components. The CI increased by +0.6%mom (Feb-24: +0.2%mom), marking the fastest expansion in 10 months, driven by all components except total employment in manufacturing, which declined by -0.1%.
The positive CI aligns with better-than-expected GDP growth for the first quarter of 2024, while the LI’s faster rise signals continued robust economic performance in the second quarter. Consequently, projections for Malaysia’s economic growth in 2024 are maintained at 4.7% (2023: 3.6%).
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