(Corrects to remove extraneous word 'embargo' in headline) KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Malaysia's industrial production rose 2.9 percent in December from a year earlier, weighed down by weakness in the mining sector, government data showed on Friday. Factory output was well below the 4 percent annual rise forecast in a Reuters poll, and down from the 5 percent pace set in November. Manufacturing sector output expanded 5.3 percent from a year earlier in December, slowing from 6.7 percent in the previous month, according to data from the Statistics Department. The electricity generation sector rose 3.9 percent year-on-year in December, while mining output contracted by 4.1 percent, the data showed. Industrial output reached a two-and-a-half year-high of 6.8 percent in August. On a monthly basis, factory output rose 2.2 percent from November. Malaysia's exports in December rose 4.7 percent from a year ago, sharply down from November's 14.4 percent growth as commodity prices and shipment volumes fell. INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION INDEX (base 2005) (in points; base year 2000=100) Dec 2017 Nov 2017 137.7 134.8 Pct change yr/yr 2.9 5.0 mth/mth 2.2 -1.4 SECTOR BREAKDOWN (in pct, unless otherwise stated) Dec 2017 Nov 2017 yr/yr yr/yr (pct) (pct) Manufacturing 5.3 6.7 Electricity 3.9 3.9 Mining -4.1 0.2 (Reporting by Joseph Sipalan; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)