FX.co ★ Malaysia Leading Index Rebouds in December

Malaysia’s leading economic index rose 0.5% month-on-month in December 2025, rebounding from a downwardly revised 2.2% decline in November. Most components strengthened, including:

• Real money supply, M1 (0.5% vs 0.02% in November)
• Bursa Malaysia Industrial Index (-0.2% vs -0.4%)
• Real imports of semiconductors (0.2% vs -0.7%)
• Real imports of other basic precious and non-ferrous metals (-0.3% vs -0.7%)
• Expected manufacturing sales value (0.4% vs 0%)
• Number of new companies registered (0.3% vs -0.3%)

In contrast, the number of housing units approved continued to decline, easing to 0.4% from 0.1% in the previous month.

On an annual basis, the leading index inched up 0.1% in December 2025, supported mainly by higher real money supply, M1 (7.3%), and real imports of semiconductors (4.8%). Meanwhile, the coincident index—a measure of current economic conditions—edged down 0.02%, reversing an upwardly revised 0.4% increase in November.