Malaysia’s Industrial Production Index (IPI) contracted by 3.3 percent year on year in April, weighed down by all sectors, official data showed Friday.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement that the mining sector fell 4.9 percent, while the manufacturing and electricity sector decreased by 3 percent and 2 percent, respectively.
In comparison with the preceding month, the IPI declined by 10.8 percent after registering a growth of 8.4 percent in March.
The contraction in the manufacturing sector in April marked the first fall since July 2021, mainly blamed on a decline of 3.5 percent in the export-oriented industries.
The production in the mining sector was weighed down by a continuous downturn in the natural gas index and a marginal drop in the crude oil and condensate index.
For the first four months of 2023, the IPI moderated to 1.3 percent as compared to the same period of 2022.
During the period, the manufacturing and mining indices increased by 1.8 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, while the electricity index slipped 1.2 percent.