KUALA LUMPUR: The seasonally adjusted S&P Global Malaysia Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for December 2025 remained unchanged at 50.1 from November’s reading.
S&P Global said the latest figure marked a further fractional strengthening in operating conditions across Malaysia’s manufacturing sector.
It added that based on historical relationships between PMI figures and official data, the latest reading is consistent with further solid year-on-year expansions in both gross domestic product (GDP) and manufacturing production at the end of 2025.
"The improvement in the health of the manufacturing sector was underpinned by a solid rise in workforce numbers. Employment rose for a second straight month in December,” it said.
S&P Global said the latest uptick was the third-fastest since data collection began in July 2012 and the most pronounced in over seven years.
"The overall Malaysia Manufacturing PMI remained in positive territory as 2025 drew to a close. The key highlight from the latest survey was that employment rose at one of the strongest rates on record, while there were also encouraging signs of stabilisation in output,” S&P Global Market Intelligence economist Maryam Baluch said in a note today.
She said companies took on additional staff ahead of new projects and to replace leavers, according to respondents, while output recorded a softer moderation in the closing month of 2025, nearing stabilisation in December.
Baluch said there were signs of moderation in new order inflows during December, following a modest expansion in the previous month.
"Subdued demand conditions were reflected in softer price pressures, with inflationary trends remaining mild, partly due to the pause in growth of raw material purchasing activity. Moreover, several firms took the initiative to offer discounts to clients, aiming to stimulate sales,” she added.
S&P Global said muted demand trends were reportedly behind the easing of new business. Additionally, new export orders recorded a fourth consecutive monthly easing in December.
It added that the pace of moderation was slight but marginally stronger than in the previous survey period.
"Reflecting the slowdown in new factory orders, December data indicated that purchasing activity among goods producers stagnated.
"The respective seasonally adjusted index aligned with the neutral threshold of 50.0, marking the first month since last June that goods producers did not increase their input purchases,” it added. - Bernama
