Stats Dept: Leading index stable at 109.5 points in July 2022

DoSM said real imports of other precious and non-ferrous metals persisted as the main impetus to the growth due to increased demand related to platinum-based metals. — AFP pic

Thursday, 22 Sep 2022 12:00 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 — The Leading Index (LI), which predicts the country’s economic direction four to six months ahead on average, remained stable by registering 109.5 points in July 2022 against 105.2 points in the same month last year, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).

“This corresponds to LI growth of 4.1 per cent year-on-year, lower than 5.3 per cent in June 2022,” it said in a statement today.

DoSM said real imports of other precious and non-ferrous metals persisted as the main impetus to the growth due to increased demand related to platinum-based metals.

On a month-on-month (m-o-m) basis, the LI posted minus 2.0 per cent in July 2022 against an increase of 0.4 per cent in June 2022.

“The downtrend was particularly influenced by the real imports of other basic precious and non-ferrous metals, which contributed minus 0.9 per cent to the percentage change of LI in the said month.

“Even though LI’s performance was slightly lower in July 2022, it indicates that Malaysia’s economic prospects are expected to remain optimistic ahead as the smoothed long-term trend index continues to be above 100 points.

“This is in line with various government initiatives and administrations that are responsive to the current situation,” it added. — Bernama