The manufacturing sector in Malaysia continued to contract in July, albeit at a slower rate, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Tuesday with a manufacturing PMI score of 47.8.
That's up from 47.7 in June, although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
The strongest contributor to the sub-50.0 reading in July was a solid reduction in new order volumes. Demand has now moderated in each of the last 11 months, with the latest slowdown the most marked since January. A number of firms noted that client confidence remained subdued in both domestic and international markets. Notably, the rate of moderation in new export orders quickened to the fastest since May 2020.
Meanwhile, production volumes were scaled back for the twelfth month running in July. The rate of reduction was broadly similar to those seen in May and June, as survey respondents reported that drops in output were reflective of relatively muted demand conditions.
