KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 — Malaysia’s Industrial Production Index (IPI) contracted 0.5 per cent in October 2020 compared with the same month of the previous year, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin, in a statement today, said the decline was due to a significant decrease of 10.6 per cent in the mining index.

"The deterioration in the mining sector was due to a decrease in the crude oil and condensate index (-12.6 per cent) and natural gas index (-9.0 per cent).

"Meanwhile, the manufacturing and electricity index recorded a growth of 2.4 per cent and 1.0 per cent, respectively,” he said.

The manufacturing sector output based on year-on-year comparison grew by 2.4 per cent in October 2020 after recording a growth of 4.3 per cent in September 2020.

The major sub-sectors contributing to the growth in the manufacturing sector in October 2020 were electrical and electronics products (8.1 per cent), transport equipment and other manufactures (3.5 per cent), and petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products (1.7 per cent). — Bernama