Malaysia GDP Growth Exceeds Estimate

(RTTNews) - Malaysia's economic growth strengthened more than estimated in the second quarter, driven by private consumption expenditure and investment, official data revealed Friday.

Gross domestic product expanded 6.0 percent in the second quarter, which was revised up from the initial estimate of 5.8 percent, the Department of Statistics said. This followed first quarter's 5.4 percent growth.

On a quarterly basis, the economy grew 2.5 percent, in contrast to the 0.03 percent fall in the previous quarter.

Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour said economic growth in 2026 is projected to remain within the forecast range of 4-5 percent, with recent developments indicating that overall growth could be around 5 percent.

The governor forecasts inflation to average between 1.5 percent and 2.5 percent this year. Despite upward pressure on prices from the Middle East conflict, inflation is expected to remain contained in 2026, he added.

The production-side of GDP showed that the service sector continued to underpin the economic growth with all sectors reporting positive growth except the agriculture sector.

Services output growth improved to 5.9 percent from 5.6 percent and the annual increase in manufacturing output accelerated to 7.3 percent from 5.9 percent. The mining and quarrying output advanced 9.2 percent, reversing a decline of 2.1 percent a quarter ago.

Construction grew 6.5 percent but slower than the 7.7 percent expansion posted in the preceding quarter. Meanwhile, farm output declined 3.7 percent, reversing a 2.6 percent rise.

The expenditure-side showed that household spending climbed 4.8 percent and government spending grew 7.6 percent. Gross fixed capital formation logged an expansion of 4.6 percent.

The external sector continued to strengthen in the second quarter, with both exports and imports recording double-digit growth of 17.0 percent and 13.9 percent, respectively.