Malaysian Industrial Production Grows 3.1%

(RTTNews) - Malaysia's industrial output expanded for the second straight month in February, figures from the Department of Statistics showed on Monday.

Industrial production climbed 3.1 percent year-on-year in February, though slower than the 4.3 percent rebound in the previous month.

The moderation in expansion was primarily attributed to the slower output growth in the manufacturing sector, which grew by 1.2 percent as compared to 3.7 percent a year ago.

Meanwhile, production in the mining sector grew at an accelerated pace of 8.1 percent versus a 5.0 percent gain in the prior month. Similarly, the annual growth in electricity production quickened to 10.9 percent from 8.3 percent.

On a monthly basis, industrial production declined 6.3 percent, reversing a 2.0 percent increase in January.

Separate official data showed that Malaysia's unemployment rate held steady for the third straight month at 3.3 percent in February. The number of unemployed people in the country totaled 567,000, which was 567,300 in January.