The leading index for Malaysia, which measures future economic activity, dropped for the second straight month in May, survey data from the Department of Statistics showed Friday.
The leading index decreased by 1.2 percent month-over-month to 117.2 in May from 118.6 in April. In March, the index was at 119.3.
Among the components, real imports of other basic precious and other non-ferrous metal decreased 0.7 percent and the number of new companies registered declined 0.6 percent.
On an annual basis, the leading index declined 0.2 percent in May following a 0.9 percent increase in the preceding month.
The coincident index also declined 0.4 percent to 122.1 in May from 122.6 in April.
The lagging index, which is an indicator of past economic activity, came in at 140.8 in May, up from 138.8 in the prior month.
Citing the data, the agency said it expects the Malaysian economy to continue to grow at a slower rate in the following months.
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