KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 14): Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said today the Malaysian economy, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), contracted 17.1% in the second quarter of 2020 (2Q2020) from a year earlier due to the unprecedented impact of stringent containment measures to control the Covid-19 pandemic globally and domestically.

"In Malaysia, the nationwide Movement Control Order (MCO) included various measures that restricted production and consumption activities,” BNM said in a statement today.

"This resulted in demand and supply shocks that emanated not only from significantly weak external demand conditions, but also production constraints in many economic sectors. Additionally, there was a marked decline in tourism activity due to international border closures and restricted interstate travel. 

"On the supply side, most economic sectors registered negative growth, while most expenditure components declined. On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted basis, the economy contracted by 16.5%.

"During the quarter, headline inflation was at -2.6%, mainly due to substantially lower retail fuel prices compared to last year and the tiered electricity tariff rebate. Core inflation moderated slightly to 1.2%,” BNM said.

More to come