Malaysia's industrial output rose 6.9 percent in July from a year ago and rebounded 10.4 percent from June due to growth in the manufacturing, mining and electricity sectors, the Department of Statistics said Monday.

The three sectors grew 8.1 percent, 4.6 percent and 0.1 percent respectively on a yearly basis, the department said in a statement.

On a monthly basis, the manufacturing sector rose 11.7 percent with mining up 9.7 percent and electricity 0.9 percent higher.

In June, Malaysia's industrial output rose 4.9 percent compared with a year earlier but fell 6.3 percent from the previous month.

Fuel economic growth

Economists hailed the data, saying the manufacturing sector would fuel economic growth.

Lee Soo Kai at OSK Research said: "These are very good numbers. Exports did well in July and boosted manufacturers' confidence. Manufacturers are still quite optimistic at this moment."

Song Seng Wun, regional economist at GK Goh Research, said the manufacturing sector picked up after slowing down in June as a result of the football World Cup.

"The June production numbers were soft largely due to the World Cup. This exaggerated the monthly rebound in July," he said.

Good start

Song said the positive July output data augurs well for the overall economy, which he expects to grow by 6.5-7.0 percent year-on-year for the six months to December period.

"Malaysia is off to a good start for the second half of the year," he said, adding he has forecast full-year economic growth at 4.5 percent.

The Malaysia government hopes to achieve 3.5 percent growth this year. AFP