Malaysia's IPI Up 4.1 Pct In July 2016

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 9 (Bernama) -- The Industrial Production Index (IPI) in July grew moderately by 4.1 per cent year-on-year in July, with expansion recorded in the manufacturing, mining and electricity sectors, the Department of Statistics (DoS) said. It noted that the manufacturing index rose 3.3 per cent, the mining index expanded 6.1 per cent and the electricity index rose 7.1 per cent. The DoS said the IPI in June 2016 remained unchanged at 5.3 per cent year-on-year. In seasonally adjusted terms, the IPI in July 2016 decreased 0.7 per cent month-on-month due to the decline in manufacturing (1.7 per cent), mining (0.9 per cent) and electricity (0.1 per cent), the department said in a statement Friday. The DoS said the manufacturing sector output registered a modest growth of 3.3 per cent in July 2016 after an increase of 4.7 per cent in June 2016. The major sub-sectors which recorded expansions in July 2016 were petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products (3.5 per cent); electrical and electronics products (4.1 per cent); and non-metallic mineral products, basic metal and fabricated metal products (4.1 per cent). The mining sector output recorded a growth of 6.1 per cent in July 2016 after a 6.3 per cent increase in June 2016, driven by higher growth in crude oil index by 13.9 per cent. The natural gas index, however, declined 2.7 per cent. The electricity sector output increased further by 7.1 per cent in July 2016 after registering a 8.7 per cent expansion in June 2016. The IPI for the January-July 2016 period expanded 3.6 per cent compared with the same period a year ago, contributed by the increase in all indices: manufacturing (4.0 per cent), mining (1.5 per cent) and electricity (8.6 per cent). -- BERNAMA