Malaysia's industrial production grew at the slowest pace in a year in September, official data on Monday showed, underlining concerns that economic growth is cooling. The industrial production index - which monitors manufacturing, electricity and mining output - grew 9.8 percent in the year through September, the Department of Statistics said.
The growth was the slowest since an 8.9 percent rise in the year through September 2003 and was slower than a 10.7-percent forecast by economists in a Reuters poll.
"The numbers are quite shocking. Exports were strong, so we were expecting strong production as well," said Wong Chee Seng, economist with Singapore's DBS Bank. "It just confirmed that growth momentum had peaked in the second quarter."
Malaysian exports jumped 28.8 percent in the year through September. Output growth was reined in by a slow down in the mining sector, which accounts for 22 percent of total industrial output.
"The slow down in mining was probably due to plant shutdown for maintenance," said Song Seng Wun, economist at GK Goh.
Malaysia's industrial production is seen as a leading indicator of the economy because it is dominated by export-led manufacturers.
Economists expect Malaysia's economic growth will slow down in the third quarter as high oil prices dent trade.
A leading Malaysian think-tank, the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research, forecast third-quarter 2004 GDP will be 7 percent higher than in the third quarter of 2003, slowing from an 8 percent expansion in the second quarter.
Third-quarter GDP data is due at the end of this month.
Industrial production had been rising at a double-digit rate since October last year and the latest data showed a slower expansion than that of neighbouring Singapore, where industrial output grew 11.8 percent in the year through September.