KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia's industrial production in April rose 4.2% from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday, supported by strong growth in the manufacturing and food and beverage sectors.
However, output growth for April was below a 4.8% annual rise forecast by a Reuters poll and slower than the 4.6% increase in March. Manufacturing output rose 6.7% year-on-year in April, on strong demand for electrical and electronic products, food and beverage and tobacco, and petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products, data from the Statistics Department showed. Electricity output declined 1.5%, the data showed. Malaysia's exports rose 20.6% in April from a year earlier, slightly slower than the previous month though the pace was strong for manufactured goods, mining and agricultural output.