KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s leading index (LI) annual growth rate recorded a marginal 0.5 per cent decline in August 2025, at 113.7 points compared with 114.3 points a year ago, according to the Statistics Department Malaysia (DoSM).
The LI provides an early indication of turning points in the business cycle and the near-term direction of the economy.
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said this was largely due to a significant decrease in real imports of other basic precious and other non-ferrous metals (-26.9 per cent) in line with the global demand slowdown.
"On a monthly basis, the LI registered a decline of 0.8 per cent, weighed down by a reduction in real imports of semiconductors (-0.7 per cent), consistent with cautious global trade sentiment,” he said.
DoSM noted that the LI smoothed long-term trend in August 2025 remained below 100.0 points, reflecting that Malaysia’s economy remains modest.
This was influenced by a steady domestic landscape, which served as the driver of growth and diversification of industries, allowing for economic stability despite global challenges.
Meanwhile, DoSM also said that the coincident index (CI), which reflects the current state of the economy, maintained its positive momentum with an annual increase of 2.1 per cent to 128.9 points in August 2025, compared with 126.3 points a year ago.
"This growth was mainly supported by a rise in real contributions, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) by 9.6 per cent, consistent with the uptick trend in the labour market following robust domestic economic activity,” it said.
However, the monthly performance of the CI showed a slight slowdown with a 0.6 per cent dip, following moderation in several components, particularly capacity utilisation in manufacturing (-0.3 per cent), it added. - Bernama
