KUALA LUMPUR (June 12): Malaysia’s industrial production surged above expectations in April as manufacturing activities accelerated and electricity generation surged while mining output rebounded.
The industrial production index — which measures output from factories, power plants, and mines — rose 8.2% in April when compared to the same month last year, the Department of Statistics Malaysia said in a statement on Friday.
The print is higher than the Bloomberg consensus estimate of 4.5% and March’s 3.1% year-on-year gain.
On a month-on-month basis, however, the index fell 3.4% in April.
The jump in all major activities comes at a time when the geopolitical conflict in the Middle East was in full swing. Singapore and Vietnam also saw a pick-up in industrial output while Japan, China, Taiwan, and South Korea reported slower growth during the same month.
Year-on-year, manufacturing output rose 8.3% compared to March’s 5.5% increase. Export-oriented industries, which accounted for about two-thirds of manufacturing output, climbed 8.5% driven by computer, electronics and optical products as well as coke and refined petroleum products.
Domestic-oriented industries was 8% higher led by an increase in the category covering motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers.
Electricity generation increased 10.5%, much higher than the 4.8% gain in March.
The mining sector bounced back with 6.8% expansion after a 6.5% contraction a month earlier, as higher natural gas output offset decline in crude oil and condensate.