The November 2023 leading index decline was attributed to the unfavourable performance in the number of approved housing units and real imports of semiconductors. (Pexels pic)
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s leading index (LI) saw a 0.2% decrease to 109.8 points in November 2023 as compared to 110.0 points in the same month of the previous year, said the statistics department.
In a statement, Chief Statistician Uzir Mahidin said that looking at the smoothed long-term trend in November 2023, the LI remained below the 100.0 point trend, and Malaysia’s economy is foreseen to maintain its moderate growth supported by the resilient performance of domestic-oriented industries despite continuing to face the uncertainty of the international market.
The LI is a tool utilised for predicting economic trends four to six months ahead.
Uzir said the LI decline in November 2023 was due to the unfavourable performance in the number of housing units approved (-25.8%) and real imports of semiconductors (-18.3%).
However, he said the Bursa Malaysia Industrial Index grew 17.1% and has remained positive since May 2023.
The monthly performance of the LI rebounded by 0.5% as compared to negative 0.1% in October 2023, driven by a significant increase in real imports of semiconductors (1%).
As for the current economic position, Uzir said the Coincident Index (CI) recorded 123.7 points, an increase of 2.6% as compared to 120.3 points in the same month of the preceding year.
“This was contributed by all components, mainly the Real Contributions Value, EPF (13.7%).
“In contrast to the annual performance, the monthly CI shrank by a negative 0.3%, influenced by lacklustre performance in all components except for Real Salaries & Wages in Manufacturing (0.1%),” he added.
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