PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s Industrial Production Index (IPI) grew by 3.1% year-on-year (yoy) for March 2019, driven by growth in electricity and manufacturing sectors according to the Department of Statistics.
The increase in March’s IPI was supported by a 4.1% growth in the manufacturing index and 4.8% growth in the electricity index compared with a year ago.
For manufacturing, the major sub-sectors that contributed to the increase in March were food, beverages and tobacco products (6.8%); petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products (3.7%); and electrical and electronics products (2.7%).
However, the mining index recorded a slight decline of 0.2% yoy, due to a drop in the crude oil index of 2.0%. Meanwhile, the natural gas index grew by 1.4%.
Overall, Malaysia’s IPI grew by 2.7% in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the same period last year. The increase was contributed by the growth in electricity sector (5.8%) and manufacturing sector (4.0%).
The mining sector declined by 1.9% during the quarter.
