The LI is a predictive tool used to anticipate economic upturns and downturns an average of four to six months ahead.

“The LI improved in May 2022 with the long-term trend index remaining above 100 points. However, it must be noted that efficient and effective inflation management by the government is crucial for sustainable economic growth,” DoSM said in a statement today.

Chief statistician Uzir Mahidin said the expansion of the LI was mainly due to the increment in real imports of basic precious and non-ferrous metals, driven by the encouraging demand for platinum-based imports.

On a month-on-month (m-o-m) basis, he said, the LI grew 0.4% in May 2022 versus a contraction of 0.4% in April 2022, mainly supported by growth in the number of housing units approved (+1.2%), real imports of basic precious and non-ferrous metals (+0.2%) and number of new companies registered (+0.1%).

Meanwhile, the coincident index (CI) which reflects the current state of the economy, grew 6.4% (y-o-y) in May 2022 from 5.3% (y-o-y) in April 2022.

On a monthly basis, DoSM said, the CI increased 0.8% in May 2022, mainly contributed by the volume index of retail trade which grew 0.7% m-o-m.