Malaysia’s leading index sinks further into negative territory in April

PETALING JAYA: Prolonged disruptions in the economy has continued to affect the performance of the leading index (LI), causing it to slump further to -5.5% in April from -3.6% in March, driven by the number of housing units approved and number of new companies registered.

In a statement, chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said considering the weaker performance of annual LI and the LI growth cycle deviation from the long-term trend, it is anticipated that the economy will remain in the contraction trajectory in the coming months.

“An early signal of economic recession has been shown by the LI since October 2019. The economy began to slowdown since then due to global trade tension and the contraction worsened with the outbreak of Covid-19. The downward trend is confirmed by the coincident index (CI) beginning February 2020,” he said.

The CI which measures the overall current economic performance, posted a sharp dropped at -15.6% as against -6.9% in the previous month. Year on year, the CI slipped to -19.3% in April 2020 from -3.6% recorded in March 2020. These reflect the business shut downs and demand plunge in April 2020.

source https://www.thesundaily.my/business/malaysia-s-leading-index-sinks-further-into-negative-territory-in-april-HD2621797