KUALA LUMPUR: The leading index (LI) for October 2025 rose 3.6% year-on-year (y-o-y) to 116.2 points from 112.2 points, according to the Statistics Department (DOSM).
The increase was underpinned by strong double-digit growth in three LI components, namely the number of housing units approved (51.2%), real imports of other basic precious and other non-ferrous metals (39.2%) and real imports of semiconductors (32.4%).
Concurrently, the LI’s monthly performance rebounded 2.6% in October 2025 after two consecutive months of decline, supported by improved real imports of other basic precious and other non-ferrous metals (1.8%). This positive development reflects stronger economic momentum towards 2026.
“In line with the notable improvement in the performance of the LI, the smoothed long-term trend of the LI surpassed the 100.0 points in October 2025.
“Based on this scenario, the economic outlook is expected to be more optimistic in the future, supported by encouraging economic activities, particularly in imports of intermediate goods, alongside promising performance across key economic sectors, namely the services and manufacturing sectors,” DOSM said.
Meanwhile, the coincident index (CI) rose 2.7% y-o-y to 129.9 points from 126.5 points, supported by a 15.3% increase in real Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributions, reflecting stronger income flows and steady employment.
On a monthly basis, the CI grew 0.6%, driven by 0.2% increases in real salaries and wages in manufacturing and real EPF contributions.
DOSM said the diffusion index for the LI rose to 71.4% in December 2025 from 57.1% in the previous month, while the diffusion index for the CI was unchanged at 83.3%.
