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Economy

Malaysia GDP plunges record 17.1% in Q2 under pandemic pressure

Worse-than-expected contraction reflects lengthy coronavirus lockdown

Malaysia's central bank still expects the full-year GDP to fall between 0.5% growth and a 2% contraction.   © Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia's economy contracted 17.1% on the year in the second quarter, the central bank announced on Friday, reflecting the dire impact of the coronavirus lockdown imposed through the three-month period.

This is Malaysia's worst performance on record and first quarterly decline since the third period of 2009, amid the global financial crisis. It marks a painful reversal compared with the 4.9% growth logged for the second quarter of 2019, and a steep drop-off after the country eked out 0.7% gross domestic product growth in the first three months of 2020.

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