The Department of Statistics, Malaysia’s latest Malaysian Economic Statistics Review focuses on the recent statistics released in April 2024 and some forthcoming statistics for May 2024. The reveiw analyses the impact of import prices on rice prices in Malaysia and examines the correlations between market prices, ex-factory prices, global rice prices, and domestic rice production.
Evaluating the present condition of the global economy, the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects report predicts that global economic growth will stabilise at 2.6 per cent in 2024. This growth is projected to increase to an average of 2.7 per cent in 2025 and 2026.
Centering on Malaysia’s economic performance, Chief Statistician Malaysia, Dato’ Sri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin mentioned, “The Industrial Production Index (IPI) in April 2024 showed a year-on-year acceleration of 6.1 per cent (2.4% in March 2024). This growth was fuelled by a 4.9 per cent increase in the Manufacturing sector (up from 1.3% in March 2024) and 10.0 per cent rise in the Mining sector (up from 4.9 per cent in March 2024). The Electricity sector maintained stable growth at 7.6 per cent, slightly down from 8.5 per cent in March 2024. The Manufacturing sector’s sales reached RM153.2 billion in
April 2024 marking a 5.7 per cent year-on-year increase compared to the 1.4 per cent growth recorded in the previous month. This growth was primarily driven by significant expansions in the Transport Equipment and Other Manufactures sub-sector, which grew by 16.9 per cent, and the Non-metallic Mineral Products, Basic Metal, and Fabricated Metal Products sub-sector, which increased by 12.8 per cent.”
Analysing Malaysia’s services sector, Wholesale and Retail Trade sector showed positive growth in April 2024, expanding by 6.6 per cent year-on-year to achieve monthly sales totalling RM144.9 billion. The Retail Trade sub-sector which was the main driver, increased 5.5 per cent or RM3.3 billion, reaching RM63.8 billion in sales. Additionally, Wholesale Trade and Motor Vehicles increased by 4.8 per cent (+RM2.9 billion) and 18.1 per cent (+RM2.6 billion), respectively.
Examining the prices, Malaysia’s inflation rate recorded 1.8 per cent, maintaining this level for three consecutive months, with the index reaching 132.4 compared to 130.0 in the previous year. This was contributed by increases in key sectors: Restaurant and Accommodation Services rose by 3.5 per cent (3.0% in March 2024), Personal Care, Social Protection and Miscellaneous Goods and Services increased by 3.1 per cent (2.6% in March 2024), while Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels remained unchanged.
Shifting focus to the external sector, Malaysia’s merchandise exports rebounded in April 2024, growing by 9.1 per cent year-on-year to RM114.7 billion from RM105.2 billion. Imports also increased significantly, rising by 15.6 per cent to RM107.0 billion compared to RM92.6 billion in April 2023. As a result, the trade balance decreased by 39.0 per cent year-on-year to RM7.7 billion. In May 2024, Malaysia’s trade performance continued to show positive growth, with total trade expanding by 10.3 per cent or RM23.0 billion to RM246.3 billion compared to the previous year. Imports grew by 13.8 per cent to
RM118.1 billion, while exports increased by 7.3 per cent to RM128.2 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of RM10.1 billion.
Regarding Malaysia’s labour market in April 2024, the labour force totalled 17.12 million persons, marking a 1.7 per cent increase compared to April 2023 (16.84 million persons). The number of employed persons also grew by 1.9 per cent to 16.56 million persons (from 16.25 million persons in April 2023). Consequently, the Labour Force Participation Rate
(LFPR) increased by 0.3 percentage points from the previous year (April 2023: 70.0%), while the unemployment rate remained at 3.3 per cent, as recorded in previous month.
In his concluding remarks, Dato’ Sri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin stated, “In April 2024, Malaysia’s Leading Index (LI) rose by 4.3 per cent to reach 113.1 points, compared to 108.4 points the previous year. All components of the index showed improvements, except for a slight decline of 1.5 per cent in Real Imports of Semiconductors. The monthly performance of LI also showed growth, increasing by 0.8 per cent from March 2024, which had seen a decrease of 0.5 per cent. The smoothed long-term trend for April 2024 indicated that the LI remained above 100.0 points, suggesting continued economic expansion in the upcoming months, supported by robust domestic demand and sustained growth in the Manufacturing and Services sectors.”
