KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s leading index (LI) remained positive in September 2024, recording a 1.8 per cent annual growth to reach 111.5 points versus 109.5 points in the same month a year ago, said Statistics Department Malaysia (DOSM). Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin stated that this 10-month consecutive positive performance since December 2023 indicates Malaysia’s continuous economic growth.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the Bursa Malaysia Industrial Index was the main contributor to this increase, rising by 30.4 per cent. However, the LI’s monthly performance declined by 2.6 per cent due to decreases in most components, except for the real money supply, M1, and Bursa Malaysia Industrial Index, each accounting for a 0.2 per cent increase.

Dr Mohd Uzir explained that the smoothed long-term trend in September 2024 consistently exceeded 100.0 points, indicating that the Malaysian economy is expected to continue growing, supported by optimistic domestic economic performance. Nonetheless,
he acknowledged that global challenges might pose potential risks to this growth trajectory.

On the current economic performance, Dr Mohd Uzir noted that the coincidence index (CI) also experienced an annual 1.3 per cent rise to reach 125.6 points compared to 124.0 points a year ago. This performance was driven by almost all components, except for the real salaries and wages in manufacturing, which decreased by 0.6 per cent.

However, he added that the CI’s monthly performance saw a marginal 0.7 per cent fall due to decreases in four out of six components, with the manufacturing sector’s total employment and real salaries and wages witnessing slight increases of 0.1 per cent and 0.02 per cent, respectively.