17.08.201801:03:00UTC+00Malaysia's GDP Growth Slows In Q2

Malaysia's economic growth slowed to the weakest in more than a year in the second quarter, data from the Department of Statistics showed Friday.

Gross domestic product advanced 4.5 percent year-on-year, slower than the 5.4 percent expansion seen in the first quarter. A similar weaker growth was last seen in the fourth quarter of 2016.

On a quarterly basis, GDP climbed 0.3 percent versus 1.4 percent growth a quarter ago.

The production-side breakdown of GDP showed that service sector sustained 6.5 percent annual growth. Manufacturing grew moderately by 4.9 percent. At the same time, the expansion in construction slowed to 4.7 percent.

For the first half of 2018, Malaysia's GDP grew 4.9 percent from the same period of last year.

Another report from statistical office showed that Malaysia's current account surplus narrowed to MYR 3.9 billion from MYR 15.0 billion in the previous quarter.

This was the lowest since the second quarter of 2016. The lower surplus was largely attributable to the lower net exports of goods.