KUALA LUMPUR :Malaysia’s economy expanded at its fastest pace in a year in the third quarter, with growth in 2025 poised to come in at the upper end of the central bank’s forecast, Bank Negara Malaysia said on Friday.
Gross domestic product rose 5.2 per cent in the July-to-September period, data from BNM and the Statistics Department showed, in line with projections by economists polled by Reuters as well as a preliminary government estimate. The economy expanded 4.4 per cent in the first two quarters of the year.
GDP rose 2.4 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, gaining pace slightly from the 2.2 per cent growth recorded in the previous three months.
Over the first nine months of the year as a whole, the economy grew by 4.7 per cent, well within central bank’s forecast range of between 4 per cent and 4.8 per cent for 2025, BNM Governor Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour told a press conference.
“At this rate for this year, we may record a growth rate that is closer to the upper range of this forecast,” he said.
Growth was subject to both upside and downside risks, Abdul Rasheed said, citing trade disruptions brought about by U.S. tariffs.
The economy however is expected to benefit from a recovery in tourism and higher demand for the country’s electrical and electronic goods, he said.
The government said last month that it expects the economy to expand between 4 per cent and 4.5 per cent next year.
Last week, BNM maintained its benchmark interest rate at 2.75 per cent, after cutting rates for the first time in five years at its July meeting, citing easing trade uncertainties.
Asked whether another rate cut was on the cards, Abdul Rasheed said the current monetary policy levels were appropriate and supportive of the economy, but there was “still space to take action” given the present outlook for growth and inflation.
Inflation was projected to remain moderate this year. Consumer prices in September rose 1.5 per cent from a year earlier, gaining pace slightly after slowing to a four-year low of 1.1 per cent in June.
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