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Malaysia Leading Index Edges Down 0.5% in May

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Malaysia's leading index, which anticipates economic direction in the near term, ticked down 0.5% month over month in May, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia on Friday.

The pace of growth missed the Trading Economics forecast of 0.3%.

The decline in the index was driven by the moderation in three out of seven components, namely real imports of other basic precious and other non-ferrous metals, number of new companies registered and number of housing units approved.

On an annual basis, the index grew 0.8%.

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