KUALA LUMPUR (April 11): Malaysia’s Industrial Production Index (IPI) rose 3.9% in February 2022 from a year earlier, contributed by growth in the manufacturing and electricity components of the index, while the mining segment contracted, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

On a month-on-month (m-o-m) basis, however, the IPI decreased 6.6% as all three components of the index contracted, according to chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin in a statement on Monday (April 11).

“The [year-on-year or y-o-y] expansion of the IPI was contributed by an increment of 5.2% in the manufacturing index and 3.9% in the electricity index. Meanwhile, the mining index recorded a decline of 0.4%.

“[Year to-date,] the IPI for the period of January to February 2022 recorded an expansion of 4.1% as compared to the same period of the previous year. The increment was supported by a rise in the manufacturing index (6%) and the electricity index (5.4%). Meanwhile, the mining index shrank 2.8%,” Mohd Uzir added.

On a m-o-m basis, the DOSM said the IPI decreased 6.6% in February 2022 as the manufacturing and mining components contracted 7.2% and 3.8% respectively, while the electricity component shrank 8.4%.

“[In February 2022,] the manufacturing sector's output based on y-o-y comparison increased by 5.2% after recording a growth of 6.8% in January. The main sub-sectors contributing to the growth in the manufacturing sector in February were electrical and electronics products (12.8%), transport equipment and other manufactures (8.4%), and food, beverages and tobacco products (6.6%).

"For month-on-month comparison, the manufacturing sector decreased 7.2% as compared to January 2022, influenced by lower capacity utilisation, especially in the non-metallic mineral products, basic metal and fabricated metal products, and food, beverages and tobacco products sub-sectors,” the DOSM noted.

According to the DOSM, the mining sector's output declined 0.4% in February 2022 from a year earlier, affected by a decrease of 4.3% in the mining component's crude oil and condensate gauge, while the natural gas gauge grew 2.6%.