Malaysia’s Leading Index Rises 1.3 Pct In June
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 (Bernama) -- Malaysia’s Leading Index (LI) rose 1.3 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to 114.8 points in June 2026 from 113.3 points a year earlier, indicating that the country’s near-term economic prospects remain positive.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said the increase was driven mainly by a 35.1 per cent surge in real imports of other basic precious and non-ferrous metals, as well as a 14.2 per cent increase in real imports of semiconductors.
“This scenario is in line with the strengthening of Malaysia’s trade activities, particularly sustained demand for Electrical and Electronics (E&E) products,” it said in a statement today.
However, the increase was partly offset by declines in several components, particularly the number of new companies registered, DOSM said.
On a month-on-month (m-o-m) basis, the LI edged up 0.02 per cent, mainly supported by a 0.8 per cent increase in real imports of other basic precious and non-ferrous metals.
DOSM said the LI’s long-term smoothed trend remained below the 100-point mark.
“Nevertheless, the Malaysian economy is expected to continue growing, supported by resilient domestic demand and continued expansion in investment activities.
“At the same time, an increasingly dynamic global economic landscape and the recovery in international trade are expected to continue supporting Malaysia’s economic growth,” it said.
Meanwhile, the Coincident Index (CI), which measures current economic performance, rose 2.6 per cent y-o-y to 131.6 points in June.
DOSM said the increase was supported by growth across all components, particularly real contributions to the Employees Provident Fund, which rose 16.0 per cent, and the Volume Index of Retail Trade, which increased 4.1 per cent.
On a m-o-m basis, the CI rose 0.3 per cent, supported by a 0.2 per cent increase in manufacturing capacity utilisation, it said.
-- BERNAMA