In the closing quarter of 2024, Malaysia's economic growth showed signs of easing, attributed to subdued performance in the manufacturing and construction sectors; however, the annual growth remained aligned with government forecasts. According to preliminary figures released by the Department of Statistics on Friday, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) experienced a 4.8 percent increase compared to the same period the previous year. This marks a decline from the 5.3 percent growth observed in the third quarter.
The year concluded with the services sector as the primary driver of economic expansion, with its growth marginally increasing to 5.3 percent from 5.2 percent. Although the construction sector achieved a substantial growth of 19.6 percent, it was slightly lower than the 19.9 percent growth reported in the prior quarter. Meanwhile, manufacturing growth slowed to 4.3 percent from 5.6 percent. Contrarily, the mining and quarrying sectors contracted by 1.4 percent, and the agricultural sector saw a reduction of 0.6 percent.
For the year 2024, Malaysia's GDP grew by 5.1 percent, an improvement from the 3.6 percent growth rate of the previous year, remaining within the government's anticipated range of 4.8 to 5.3 percent. The Department of Statistics is set to release the preliminary GDP figures on February 14.
Economist Gareth Leather from Capital Economics cautioned that growth may be impeded by a stricter fiscal policy. Additionally, anticipated declines in global commodity prices and tepid global demand are expected to exert downward pressure on Malaysia's economic activities. Leather projected that GDP growth could decelerate to 4.8 percent this year. With inflation anticipated to climb due to subsidy reductions, he predicted that the central bank would maintain its current key interest rates for the near future.
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