Malaysia Industrial Production Growth Eases To 4.1%

(RTTNews) - Malaysia's industrial output growth moderated for the first time in three months in August, figures from the Department of Statistics showed on Friday.

Industrial production climbed 4.1 percent yearly in August, slower than the 5.3 percent surge in the previous month. Meanwhile, economists had expected the growth to improve slightly to 5.4 percent.

Among sectors, the annual growth in manufacturing production eased to 6.5 percent from 7.7 percent. Similarly, electricity production grew at a slower pace of 4.1 percent versus 7.0 percent increase in July.

On the other hand, the decline in mining production deepened to 6.4 percent from 5.0 in the previous month.

On a monthly basis, industrial production rebounded 1.7 percent, reversing a 1.5 percent decrease in July.

Separate official data showed that annual retail sales growth slowed to 5.9 percent in August from 6.4 percent in July. Sales in non-specialized stores grew 7.8 percent, and those of other goods in specialized stores advanced by 5.8 percent.