KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 — Malaysia's Leading Index (LI) recorded a healthier month-on-month (m-o-m) trend in February 2022, increasing to 110.8 points from 110.1 points in the preceding month, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).
However, the annual LI showed a slower performance at negative 0.5 per cent, signifying that near-term growth momentum would ease amid continued economic recovery, it said.
“This was influenced by cautious investor sentiment in the stock market which was reflected by the downtrend in the Bursa Malaysia Industrial Index, backed by the healthcare and utilities indices during the month,” chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said in a statement today.
On the m-o-m LI increase of 0.5 per cent in the reference month, he said this was mainly contributed by growth in real imports of other basic precious and other non-ferrous metals (0.6 per cent), real imports of semiconductors (0.4 per cent) and Bursa Malaysia Industrial Index (0.2 per cent).
The LI is a predictive tool used to anticipate economic upturns and downturns in an average of four to six months ahead.
"The (ongoing) international crises have exerted further pressure on global economic growth through trade, inflation and financial markets, which in turn could disrupt the growth prospects of the Malaysian economy,” DoSM said.
Pertaining to current economic perspective, the Coincident Index sustained its growth by expanding 6.4 per cent to 120.4 points in February 2022 from 113.2 points a year earlier, the department said. — Bernama