PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian economy, as measured by the leading index (LI), continues to show an encouraging near-term growth trend buoyed by the manufacturing sector, strong labour market and construction of housing units.
The Statistics Department’s economic indicators – leading, coincident and lagging indexes for December 2024 showed the domestic economy’s performance remaining encouraging, with the LI for December 2024 reaching 113.6 points, or a 3.1% increase from the same month a year ago.
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the performance was supported by continued strength of Bursa Malaysia industrial index which surged 27.1% and the imports of semiconductors which rose by 21.6%.
The monthly performance of the LI grew by 0.8%, driven mainly by the industrial index and the number of housing units built.