KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 13): Malaysian consumer spending appeared to have picked up pace in September as both wholesale trade and retail sales accelerated, official data on Friday showed.

Wholesale and retail trade totalled RM183.1 billion in September, an increase of 15.9% from the same month in 2025, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia. The rate of growth is also higher than the 10.5% year-on-year gain in August.

On a month-on-month basis, distributive trade surged 5.9% in September compared to 1.5% in August.

Retail sales amounted to RM73.7 billion, a 6.9% year-on-year increase, driven by sales at supermarkets and mini markets as well as retail at specialised stores such as pharmaceutical, medical goods, and information and communications equipment.

The wholesale sector saw a 25.3% jump in sales to RM89 billion from a year earlier mainly due to higher prices of petrol, diesel and lubricants following a jump in global crude oil prices. Wholesale of household goods and food products also expanded.

A separate automotive segment, meanwhile, climbed 13.4% to RM20.5 billion, mainly by vehicle sales and maintenance activities.

In terms of volume, wholesale and retail trade was up 5.5% in September, picking up from 3.6% year-on-year growth in August. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the volume index increased 2.5% month-on-month.

An index for retail sales over the internet, meanwhile, decelerated to 6.3% year-on-year, moderating from the 6.7% pace reported in August.