FX.co ★ Malaysia Leading Index Falls 0.6% in January

Malaysia’s leading economic index declined by 0.6% month-on-month in January 2026, reversing from a downwardly revised 0.4% increase in December. The fall was driven by contractions in several components: real money supply, M1 (-0.4% vs +0.4% in December), the Bursa Malaysia Industrial Index (-0.2% vs -0.1%), real imports of semiconductors (-0.02% vs +0.4%), and the number of newly registered companies (-0.04% vs +0.2%).

In contrast, the decline in real imports of other basic precious and other non-ferrous metals eased (-0.1% vs -0.2%), while approvals for new housing units returned to growth (0.1% vs -0.3%).

On a year-on-year basis, the leading index rose 0.6%, accelerating from 0.1% in December and reaching its highest level in three months. At the same time, the coincident index, which tracks current economic conditions, increased 0.9% month-on-month, up from an upwardly revised 0.3% in December 2025.