KUALA LUMPUR: The Leading Index (LI), a gauge of economic activity four to six months ahead, continued to show a decline, showing no let up in downward pressure for growth.
The LI for July 2023 declined 0.9 per cent, registering 109.0 points as compared with a decline of 2.1 per cent in June 2023.
The improvement was supported by a significant increase in the number of housing units approved (200.8 per cent). Nevertheless, the persistent decreases in the real Imports of other basic precious & other non-ferrous metals (-24.3 per cent) and real imports of semi conductors (-17.4 per cent) influenced overall growth.
Looking at the monthly performance, the LI recorded negative 0.7 per cent for the reference month compared with a negative 0.5 per cent in the previous month.
The decline was due to the contractions in all components except for the Bursa Malaysia industrial index (0.1 per cent) and the expected sales value, manufacturing (0.1 per cent)".
The smoothed growth rate of the LI for July 2023 remained below the 100.0 points trend, reflecting a moderated economic performance for Malaysia in the near term attributed to uncertain global prospects.
In terms of the current economic situation, the Coincident Index (CI) recorded 123.5 points in July 2023, increasing by 2.2 per cent compared with 120.8 points in the same month of the previous year. The incline was contributed by all CI components especially the real contributions, EPF (15.5 per cent).
At the same time, the monthly performance of the CI rebounded 0.2 per cent as compared with a negative 0.9 per cent in the previous month, driven by the volume index of retail trade (0.3 per cent).
