KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s industrial output growth in June likely slowed compared with the same period a year ago, according to a poll of economists. The industrial production index (IPI), which measures output from mines, factories and power plants, likely rose 3.0% in June compared with a year ago, according to the median forecast from a poll of eight economists by The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. It climbed 4.6% on-year in May. “High base in the last year’s figure could be a factor as to why we could see moderation in IPI growth,” Dr. Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, chief economist at Kuala Lumpur-based Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd., told The Wall Street Journal.
Nonetheless, he said production is still healthy considering that purchasing manager indexes in major economies remain in expansionary mode. “We believe inventory level is still fairly lean with manufacturing sales growth have outpaced manufacturing production growth for quite a while,” he added. Malaysian exports in June grew at a slower-than-expected pace of 10.0% from a year ago, as gains in shipments of electrical goods and electronics were partly offset by a drop exports of timber and refined petroleum products. Malaysia will release its official industrial-production data at 0400 GMT on Thursday.
