Malaysia's manufacturing sector loses further momentum in October

Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia], November 3: S&P Global Market Intelligence said the seasonally adjusted S&P Global Malaysia Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) slipped from 49.1 in September to 48.7 in October, indicating a slight moderation.
The research house said in a statement the latest PMI reading is representative of approximately 5 percent year-on-year growth of gross domestic product (GDP) in Malaysia, which would signal some loss in growth momentum from the situation earlier in the year.
It said the data are consistent with a continued, albeit softer expansion in official manufacturing production.
The research house economist Laura Denman said the latest S&P Global PMI data for the Malaysia manufacturing sector pointed to a further loss in growth momentum at the start of the final quarter.
She said that anecdotal evidence suggested that demand conditions were subdued which led firms to scale back output.
She also said sluggish demand was particularly apparent on an international level, as signaled by the strongest moderation in new export orders since June 2021.
"On a more positive note, pricing and supply pressures alleviated further in October. Both input cost and output price inflation softened markedly from September, dipping to 23 and 24-month lows, respectively," she said.
At the same time, she said the rate of deterioration in vendor performance was the slowest since January 2020, helping to alleviate some of the headwinds that firms have faced in recent years.
Source: Xinhua