KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Industrial Production Index (IPI) fell by 5.2 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in July 2021, its first decline since November 2020, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

In a statement today, chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the manufacturing sector output decreased by 6.5 per cent y-o-y in July 2021 after recording a downturn of 0.2 per cent in June 2021.

"The main subsectors contributed to the downturn in the manufacturing sector in July 2021 were transportequipment and other manufacturing (-43.8 per cent), non-metallic mineral products, basic metal and fabricated metal products (-27.6 per cent), and wood products, furniture, paper products and printing (-23.7 per cent).

"The domestic-oriented industry shrank by 24.7 per cent while export-oriented industries grew by 1.9 per cent," he said.

Mohd Uzir said the mining index recorded an increase of 0.6 per cent in July 2021, driven by the increase of 4.1 per cent in the natural gas index.

He said the crude oil and condensates index dropped by 3.6 per cent, while the electricity sector output contracted 6.6 per cent y-o-y during the same month.

-- BERNAMA