Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said business performance was expected to remain positive with a net balance of 18.2% in the second half of the year, compared with the first half of the year.
He said the confidence indicator of the business sector had increased to 3.1% from 2.8% in the preceding quarter. Malaysia's labour productivity as measured by value added per hour worked remained stagnant at 2.4% in the second quarter of the year, as compared with the preceding quarter despite the country recording economic expansion from 4.5% to 4.9% during the corresponding period.
The Producer Price Index for local production decreased 2.2% in July, as compared with the same month of the preceding year,