Malaysia's economyexpanded by an annual 5 percent in the third quarter of this year,bolstered by domestic demand and a significant turnaround in exports,according to Bank Negara Malaysia.
At the announcement ceremonyin Kuala Lumpur on Nov. 15, Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Dr Zeti AkhtarAziz said domestic demand grew by 8.3 percent while exports registered1.7 percent growth compared to minus 5.2 percent in the second quarter.Exports, a critical part of the economy, have turned around after sevenquarters of contraction.
Zeti said the headline inflation rate,as measured by the annual change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), washigher at 2.2 percent in the third quarter from 1.8 percent growth inthe second quarter.
The increase was mainly attributed to higher inflation in the transport, food and non-alcoholic beverages categories.
Growthin most economic sectors improved in the third quarter, with theservices and manufacturing sectors expanded further, supported bydomestic demand and improvements in trade activities, she said, addingthat the agriculture sector's growth was also higher, supported mainlyby production of food crops.
In the third quarter, thecountry's current account surplus increased to 9.8 billion RM (3.06billion USD), equivalent to 4.1 percent to gross national income (GNI),almost four folds from 2.6 billion RM in the second quarter.
The same day, the central bank revised second quarter growth to 4.4percent from 4.3 percent but kept its full-year GDP forecast at 4.5-5.0percent.-VNA
