KUALA LUMPUR (July 17): Malaysia’s economy accelerated faster than expected in the second quarter as manufacturing activities picked up and mining output rebounded, official first estimates showed.
Gross domestic product expanded 5.8% in April-June when compared to the same quarter a year earlier, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia. That compares to the median 5.2% increase predicted in a Bloomberg poll and the first quarter’s 5.4% year-on-year growth.
All economic sectors saw growth, except agriculture, which saw a contraction, the department said in a statement on Friday.
The preliminary data show that Malaysia, as well as its southern neighbour Singapore, have defied expectations for weaker economic activity in the second quarter from shortages of energy and industrial materials amid the raging Middle East war.
Malaysia’s economy is expected to expand 4%-5% this year, and growth could possibly come in the upper half of the range, Bank Negara Malaysia governor Datuk Seri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour said earlier this month.
Year-on-year, supply-side data showed growth in the services sector — which accounts for more than half of Malaysia’s economic output — was a tad lower at 5.4% in the second quarter supported by wholesale and retail trade.
The manufacturing sector, meanwhile, accelerated to 7.5% in the second quarter from 5.9% in the first quarter thanks to export-oriented industries, particularly the production of electrical, electronic and optical products.
Output from mining and quarrying rebounded to 10.2% from a 2.1% contraction in the first three months of 2026, mainly driven by natural gas. Agriculture contracted by 3.7% from a 2.6% growth in the previous quarter, following a decline in nearly all sub-sectors.
The second, more comprehensive data will be released on Aug 14.