The manufacturing sector in Malaysia continued to contract in April, at a steady pace, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Tuesday with a manufacturing PMI score of 48.8.
That's unchanged from 48.6 in March, and it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
The latest PMI reading suggested that GDP growth is running at a similar level to that seen in the final quarter of 2022, as well as modest year-on-year improvements in official industrial production data. Manufacturers often noted that demand in the sector remained muted at the start of the second quarter, with some reports of customers reducing the size of their orders.
As a result, total new business moderated for the eighth consecutive month, and to a broadly similar extent to that seen in March. Demand conditions in international markets were more positive, with new export orders up fractionally following a nine-month sequence of softening.
