Malaysia: GDP growth improves moderately in Q2
GDP reading: GDP growth accelerated somewhat to 4.5% year on year in the second quarter, from 4.4% in the first quarter. On a seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, economic growth accelerated to 2.1% in Q2, following the previous period’s 0.7% increase and marking the strongest expansion since Q2 2024.
Drivers: Private consumption growth accelerated moderately to 5.3% year-on-year in the second quarter, which marked the best reading since Q2 2024 (Q1: +5.0% yoy). Public consumption picked up to a 6.4% expansion in Q2 (Q1: +4.3% yoy). Meanwhile, fixed investment growth improved to 12.1% in Q2, following the 9.7% increase recorded in the prior quarter. Exports of goods and services increased 2.6% on an annual basis in the second quarter, which was below the first quarter’s 4.1% expansion. Conversely, imports of goods and services growth picked up to 6.6% in Q2 (Q1: +3.1% yoy).