(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)