The industrial production index in ASEAN members state Malaysia jumped by 26 percent year over year in May 2021, beating analyst expectations, data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia showed on 12 July.
The rise in Malaysia’s Industrial Production Index (IPI) was higher than the 24.6-percent growth forecast in a Reuters poll of eight economists.
All three major industrial production segments – manufacturing, mining, and electricity – grew in May 2021 compared to May 2020, the Malaysian statistics department said.
The manufacturing index jumped by 29.8 percent, the mining index increased by 20.7 percent, and the industrial production index in the electricity sector rose by 7.9 percent annually in May.
The May 2021 jump in the Industrial Production Index follows the 50.1-percent surge in annual industrial production which Malaysia registered in April 2021.
In May this year, the manufacturing sector rose by 29.8 percent year-on-year, following a 68-percent annual jump in April. Petroleum, Chemical, Rubber and Plastic Products (up 34.8 percent), Non-metallic Mineral Products, Basic Metal and Fabricated Metal Products (up 49.4 percent) and Transport Equipment and Other Manufactures (up 68.9 percent) contributed the most to the manufacturing sector output growth in May 2021.
Production in the mining sector went up by 20.7 percent in May 2021 compared to the same month of the previous year. The expansion was attributed mostly to the increase in the Natural Gas index, up by 30.9 percent, and an 8.6 percent rise in the Crude Oil and Condensate index. Output in the electricity sector rose by 7.9 percent in May 2021 compared to May last year.