Malaysia’s PMI falls at a slower pace in Jan

According to data from IHS Markit, Malaysia’s manufacturing PMI continued to shrink in January, albeit at a slower pace than in December. Accordingly, the country’s Nikkei manufacturing PMI stood at 48.6 in January from a reading of 47.1 in December. However, any reading below 50 represents a contraction.

The slowdown in the decrease in January was attributed to the weaker declines in production, which was the weakest since May 2015, new orders, which was driven by the fall in domestic demand with an increase in international demand as well as a decrease in buying activity, .

However, new export orders at Malaysian goods producers rose for the first time in eigth months in January on the back of the weakening of the Malaysian ringgit, although this weakening continued to push the costs upwards, causing input prices to rise at the fastest pace ever.