Retail sales in Malaysia grew 6.5% year-on-year in August 2026, following a 6.4% rise in July, which marked the softest growth since April. Sales increased mainly in non-specialised stores (7.5% vs 7.2%), other household equipment in specialised stores (3.5% vs 3.1%), and automotive fuel in specialised stores (8.9% vs 7.5%). These gains, however, were partly offset by a slowdown in sales of other goods in specialised stores (6.9% vs 7.6%), information and communication equipment in specialised stores (4.0% vs 4.3%), and food, beverages and tobacco in specialised stores (6.1% vs 6.4%). On a monthly basis, retail sales rose 0.5%, rebounding from a 1.0% drop in July. Meanwhile, wholesale trade growth accelerated to a three-month high of 16.5% from 11.7% in July, as did motor vehicle sales growth, which rose to 10.5% from 9.0%.

Malaysia Industrial Output Growth Picks Up in August

Industrial production in Malaysia rose by 5.0% year-on-year in August 2026, accelerating from a 4.7% gain in the previous month, which was the softest increase since March. The faster growth was driven largely by higher production in the manufacturing sector, rising to a four-month high of 7.4% from 6.4% in July. The manufacturing subsectors which contributed the most to the increase were electrical & electronics products (17.0% vs 13.3%), petroleum, chemical, rubber & plastic products (2.6% vs 1.7%), and non-metallic mineral products, basic Metal & fabricated metal products (5.7% vs 5.9%). Electricity output also climbed 9% from 5.5% in the prior month. In contrast, mining activity (-7.4% vs -3.2%) declined further, due to lower production for crude oil and condensate (-12.2% vs -13.1%) and natural gas (-4.3% vs 3.6%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, industrial output grew by 0.5%, rebounding from a 0.1% fall in July.