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Free Malaysia Today
2 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Malaysian growth unexpectedly quickens despite trade risks
Malaysia's gross domestic product rose 4.5% in the April–June period from a year earlier. PETALING JAYA : Malaysia's economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter, driven by the services sector, even as the country contends with US President Donald Trump's rollout of global tariffs. Gross domestic product (GDP) rose 4.5% in the April-June period from a year earlier, according to advance estimates from the statistics department. That's higher than the 4.2% median estimate in a Bloomberg survey, and faster than the 4.4% expansion in the first three months of the year. The latest economic print may give breathing space to policymakers as they review their 4.5%-5.5% growth projection for 2025. Malaysia has been threatened with a 25% US import levy and officials are racing to negotiate the tariff lower before they take effect on Aug 1. Exports unexpectedly declined 3.5% in June from a year earlier, the statistics agency said in a separate statement. Analysts' median estimate was for an increase of 5.4%, according to a Bloomberg survey. Imports rose 1.2%, while total trade fell by 1.2%. The data suggests that the effect of frontloading of shipments to the US are wearing off, according to Lavanya Venkateswaran, analyst at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. 'Overall, we see the incoming data as mixed, suggesting weakening external demand amidst better domestic demand conditions,' she said. She maintained an annual GDP forecast of 3.9% growth, and expects another 25-basis-point cut in interest rates by the central bank this year. The central bank last week cut interest rates by a quarter point to preemptively support the economy, warning that 'the balance of risks to the growth outlook remains tilted to the downside'. Manufacturing growth slowed to 3.8% in the second quarter, from 4.1% in the first three months of the year, according to the statistics department. Growth in the services sector accelerated to 5.3%, from 5% in the previous three months, with key contributions from wholesale and retail trade, along with transportation and storage businesses. 'Malaysia's economy is estimated to have expanded by 4.4% in the first half of 2025,' the government agency said. The construction sector moderated, but still saw an 11% expansion, the sixth straight double-digit quarterly increase. The advance GDP estimates are based on available information from April and May, along with estimates. Preliminary GDP data, which will provide a detailed analysis of the second quarter, will be released on Aug 15.
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Malaysian Growth Unexpectedly Accelerates Despite Trade Risks
Malaysia's economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter, driven by the services sector, even as the country contends with US President Donald Trump's rollout of global tariffs. Gross domestic product rose 4.5% in the April-June period from a year earlier, according to advance estimates from the Department of Statistics Malaysia. That's higher than the 4.2% median estimate in a Bloomberg survey, and faster than the 4.4% expansion in the first three months of the year.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Chinese economy bucks looming trade war to post Q2 GDP growth of 5.2%
July 15 (UPI) -- China's economy slowed in the second quarter but bucked expectations of a larger slowdown in the face of U.S. tariffs, a property market slump and a sluggish global economy, official figures out Tuesday show. Annual GDP growth came in at 5.2% in the April to June quarter compared with 5.4% in the first quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said in its latest bulletin on the national economy. "The national economy withstood pressure and made steady improvement despite challenges. Production and demand grew steadily, employment was generally stable, household income continued to increase, new growth drivers witnessed robust development and high-quality development made new strides," the bureau said. The economic performance was bolstered by strong industrial output growth of 6.4%, led by manufacturing and mining. Production of 3D printing devices, electric vehicles and industrial robots, in particular, posted huge year-on-year growth of 43.1%, 36.2% and 35.6%, respectively. Industrial growth accelerated toward the end of the quarter, jumping to 6.8% in June compared with 5.3% in June 2024, and up 0.50% from May. The services sector was another bright spot for the world's second-largest economy with industries including software and IT services, transport and finance all recording stronger than average growth Annual retail sales growth, however, slowed to 4.8% in June compared with 6.4% in May. The country's crisis-hit real estate sector, which accounts for as much as a quarter of GDP, remained under pressure with a slump in investment deepening, down more than 11% compared with just over 10% in the same period in 2024. Standard Chartered economist Shuang Ding said the Chinese economy may not prove as resilient in the second half of the year as it had been thus far in 2025 due to an uplift from efforts to get goods to the United States ahead of the imposition of tariffs, as well as economic stimulus from the government in Beijing. "There will be some headwinds. Higher tariffs will take a toll on China's exports," Ding told the Financial Times. Chinese exporters may have seized on a window of opportunity provided by a series of pauses by the Trump administration in implementing reciprocal tariffs announced April 2 to get as much product stateside before the ax falls. However, China's previously heavily U.S.-dependent economy may already have adapted to the post-trade tariffs reality with the proportion of U.S. trade accounted for by China falling to 5.9% in May, its lowest level since 2002, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures. Analysis of the figures by Forbes Magazine found U.S. imports from China fell almost 28% in the first five months of the year compared with the same period in 2018, but that there was a corresponding jump in imports from the rest of the world of more than 47%. China has gone from being the United States' largest trading partner to its third, behind Mexico and Canada. The huge drop may signal a wholesale effort by Chinese manufacturers to shift operations elsewhere to avoid the impending trade tariffs on China -- or simply an acceleration to triple-digit levels of imports from countries like Vietnam, Taiwan, South Korea and Mexico that was happening anyway. Sign in to access your portfolio
The Independent
07-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Business confidence at highest level in eight months, RBS finds
Business confidence has risen to its highest level in eight months, according to a Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) survey. The private sector also saw its strongest rise in activity since November, the bank's growth tracker found. Overall, the combined output of Scotland's manufacturing and service sectors rose from a score of 50.5 in May to 50.9 in June. It marks the second consecutive monthly rise in business activity. RBS said that while the uptick was modest overall, it was the strongest since November 2024. The growth was driven entirely by the services sector with new project funding and a rise in demand underscoring the uptick. Manufacturing continued to fall sharply, the tracker found. Overall, business confidence improved to its highest level of optimism in eight months. Judith Cruickshank, chair of the One Bank Scotland Board, said: 'Scotland's private sector recorded a sustained uptick in activity at the end of the second quarter, with growth predominantly driven by service providers. 'In contrast, the manufacturing sector faced a challenging demand environment, leading to overall declines in new business and production. 'Despite these sectoral differences, firms exhibited increased optimism about the future, with manufacturers reporting positive growth forecasts for the first time in three months. 'In June, private sector firms encountered sharply rising operating costs, but selling price inflation slowed notably. This suggests a willingness among businesses to absorb some costs to bolster sales. 'The employment landscape remained broadly stable compared to the previous month, with sector data continuing to highlight diverging trends between manufacturers and service providers.' The UK as a whole saw output growth rise to a nine-month high, the tracker found, driven by expansions in business activity across eight of the 12 nations and regions monitored by the survey. Companies in Scotland recorded a ninth successive monthly fall in incoming new orders during June. The reduction in new work was centred on the manufacturing sector as services firms reported another expansion. UK-wide, new business rose for the first time in seven months. In Scotland, private sector companies remained optimistic about the year-ahead for activity in June. The degree of positive sentiment rose for a third straight month to the highest since October but was weaker than that recorded for the UK as a whole. Confidence across Scotland was supported by plans to introduce new product lines, improved operational performance, and strategic marketing efforts, the survey found. And after a slight rise in employment in May, Scotland's workforce numbers were broadly unchanged in June. Services firms reported increases in staffing levels amid upturns in new business and activity. However, this was offset by another month of job shedding at manufacturers. A near universal fall in headcounts was also recorded across the 12 monitored UK regions and nations, with Northern Ireland being the sole exception. Among the remaining areas, Scotland experienced the least pronounced drop in employment and one that was only 'fractional', RBS said. Since mid-2024, Scottish firms have continued to record a drop in backlogs of work, although June's rate of depletion was the weakest in eight months. RBS said that the fall is driven by a lack of orders in manufacturing which has allowed firms to complete outstanding orders. According to the survey, Scottish firms signalled another marked increase in average input costs during June. It found the rate of inflation quickened from May and was 'historically elevated'. Survey respondents often reported higher costs for materials, labour and energy, as well as rising supplier prices. However, the rise was less pronounced in Scotland compared to the UK as a whole. Firms north of the order also raised their output prices at a reduced rate in June. RBS described said the latest increase in charges was 'solid' but still amounted to the slowest rate in 11 months and was similar to the UK-wide average. Where higher charges were recorded, they were primarily attributed to the pass-through of increased operating expenses to customers.
