But continued declines in energy prices, which weighed on manufacturing in Indonesia and Malaysia, could hurt these two economies, while in India, sluggish domestic demand offset strong foreign demand and led to a slowdown.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's manufacturing sector, especially the electrical and electronic sector, underpinned the May industrial production index's (IPI) strong growth of 4.6% from a year ago.
According to the Statistics Department on Wednesday, the IPI exceeded a survey of a 4.1% growth.
The manufacturing index expanded 7.3% – after expanding 6.7% in April – while the electricity index rose 2.5%. However, the mining index declined by 2.3%.
The major sub-sectors which expanded in May were: electrical and electronics products (11.6%); food, beverages and tobacco (12.9%); and petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products (3.1%).
The mining sector output contracted by 2.3% in May 2017 (April 2017 : -2.0%) due to the decrease of 5.4% in crude oil index. However, the natural gas index rose 1.5%.
The electricity sector output increased by 2.5% in May after a decrease of 1.5% recorded in April.
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