KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 — Malaysia’s economy is expected to remain resilient for the second quarter of 2026 (Q2 2026) supported by the performance of the Leading Index (LI) in December 2025, which recorded a marginal increase of 0.1 per cent to 114.0 points compared to 113.9 points in the same period last year, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
The LI provides an early indication of turning points in the business cycle and the near-term direction of the economy, DOSM said in a statement today.
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said this performance was reinforced by increases in the real money supply M1 (7.3 per cent) and the real imports of semiconductors (4.8 per cent), reflecting stable domestic financial liquidity as well as sustained demand for electronic components.
“From a monthly perspective, the LI also recorded an increase of 0.5 per cent, supported by growth in the real money supply M1 (0.5 per cent) and expected sales value in manufacturing (0.4 per cent),” he added.
DOSM said examining the smoothed long-term trend in December 2025, the LI remained below 100 points.
However, Malaysia’s economy is expected to remain resilient, supported by the progressive new economy and the Visit Malaysia 2026 initiative, which is anticipated to stimulate the local businesses, tourism sector and other economic activities indirectly, it said.
In assessing the current economic situation, DOSM said the Coincident Index (CI) maintained its positive momentum, recording an annual growth of 2.1 per cent to 129.3 points compared to 126.6 points in the same month last year.
“This performance was driven by consistent increases across all components with the real contribution of the Employees Provident Fund rising 9.6 per cent as the largest contributor.
“However, on a monthly basis, the CI recorded a marginal decline of 0.02 per cent due to contractions in capacity utilisation in manufacturing and the volume index of retail trade, both of which recorded a decline of 0.1 per cent,” said the statistics department.
