In a statement today, DoSM reported that mining declined by 4.9% (March: 0.8%), while manufacturing and electricity dropped by 3% (March: 4.1%) and 2%, (March: 0.4%) respectively.

In comparison with the preceding month, the IPI declined by 10.8% after registering a growth of 8.4% in March.

The deterioration of the manufacturing sector by 3% in April was its first contraction since July 2021, mainly influenced by the 3.5% decline in export-oriented industries (March: 3.6%).

In addition, the contraction of export-oriented industries in April was the first recorded in 34 months, attributable to the decline in the manufacture of rubber products by 16.5% and the manufacture of computers, electronics and optical products by 1.8%.

In the meantime, the domestic-oriented industries fell 2.1%, particularly attributed to the manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers (-15.5%); manufacture of beverages (-5.5%); and the manufacture of food processing products (-4.9%).

On a month-on-month comparison, the manufacturing sector shrank by 11.4% after registering a 7.8% growth in March.

Production in the mining sector slowed by 4.9% in April, weighed down by a continuous downturn in the natural gas index by 7.8% and a marginal drop of 0.9% in the crude oil and condensate index.

The mining index posted a double-digit decline of 10.7% compared with an increase of 8.5% recorded in March.

Similarly, the electricity output dropped by 2% in April after recording a slight growth of 0.4% in March.

On a month-on-month comparison, the electricity index weakened by 4.8% against a growth of 15.1% recorded in the preceding month.

For the first four months of 2023, the IPI moderated to 1.3% against the same period of 2022.

During the period, the manufacturing and mining indices increased by 1.8% and 0.3% respectively, while the electricity index went down by 1.2%.