Malaysia’s Oct industrial production growth up

Malaysia’s industrial production growth quickened in October, an acceleration that may be short-lived as global demand slows.

Production at factories, utilities and mines gained 2.8 per cent from a year earlier after rising a previously reported 2.5 per cent in September, the statistics department said today. That compares with the median estimate for a 1.6 per cent increase in a Bloomberg News survey of 18 economists.

Asian policy makers have shifted their focus to shielding growth, rather than stemming inflation, as Europe’s debt woes increase the risk of another global recession. Australia, Thailand and Indonesia have lowered borrowing costs in recent weeks, while China said yesterday it expects to face “severe” challenges in its foreign trade next year.

“Industrial production has so far been held up by strong demand for commodities and other non-electronic exports due to solid demand from China and Japan as well as resilient domestic demand,” Leif Eskesen, a Singapore-based economist at HSBC Holdings plc, said before the report.

“However, with the weak global economic conditions set to persist, we see growth decelerating in the final quarter of 2011.”

Manufacturing sales rose 11.4 per cent in October from a year earlier, easing from a previously reported 16.5 per cent gain in September, the statistics department said.