KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia saw its leading index (LI) contraction narrowed by 0.5 per per cent to 109.7 points in August 2023 from a decline of one per cent (108.9 points) in July 2023, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).
LI is a tool utilised for predicting economic trends four to six months ahead.
With August 2023’s LI remaining in negative territory, DoSM anticipated that Malaysia's economy would continue to moderate, attributed by global economic uncertainties albeit strong domestic demand.
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said four components contributed positively to the index, namely the number of housing units approved which rose 245.7 per cent, Bursa Malaysia Industrial Index (up 15.2 per cent), number of new companies registered (up 13.1 per cent) as well as real imports of other basic precious and other non-ferrous metals (up 3.6 per cent).
Conversely, real imports of semiconductors continued to demonstrate a decline of 31.9 per cent, he added.
In terms of the current economic scenario, DoSM said the coincident index (CI) grew 2.1 per cent to 123.6 points in August 2023 from 121.0 points in the same month of the previous year, contributed by all components, except the industrial production index which slid 0.4 per cent.
On a monthly basis, it said the CI improved 0.04 per cent to 123.6 points in August 2023 against 123.5 points in July 2023, primarily backed by the increase of total employment of manufacturing which expanded 0.4 per cent. - Bernama
