The increase in Malaysia’s Leading Index (LI) for April 2024 indicated that the country’s economic growth momentum remained strong, according to Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin. The LI rose by 4.3% year-on-year, reaching 113.1 points compared to 108.4 points in April 2023, marking the steepest rise since July 2022.
This increase was primarily driven by improvements across most components, with the exception of real imports of semiconductors, which saw a 1.5% year-on-year decline. On a month-on-month basis, the LI rebounded to a 0.8% increase in April 2024, up from a 0.5% decline in March 2024. The Coincident Index (CI), reflecting current economic conditions, also showed a robust growth of 3.0% year-on-year, the fastest in three months, largely due to a 34.1% rise in real EPF contributions as more people entered the job market.
Month-on-month, the CI increased by 0.3%, although this was slightly dampened by a 0.2% decrease in capacity utilisation in the manufacturing sector. The significant rise in the LI suggests a positive economic outlook for Malaysia in 2024. With the positive growth in both the LI and CI, it is projected that Malaysia’s GDP growth will accelerate to 4.7% in 2024, up from 3.6% in 2023, driven by sustained domestic demand and a recovery in external trade activity.
