Malaysia's leading economic index slipped in June, largely due to foreign trade issues, reported the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) on Monday.

The Leading Economic Index declined 0.5% in June from May, and was off marginally from a year earlier, said the agency.

"Examining the smoothed long-term trend in June 2025, the Leading Index remained below 100.0 points, anticipating an easing economic momentum. The outlook is supported by a strong domestic foundation, but weighed down by external challenges," said the DOSM.

On contrast to the soft leading index, the Malaysia Coincident Economic Index, that measure current economic performance, rose 0.4% in June from May, and by 1.7% on year, the DOSM said.

The boost to the coincident index was driven by strong reported wages and industrial production, advised the DOSM.

The outlook for Malaysia's international trade picture is tempered.

Malaysia's exports climbed 6.8% year on year in July, and to the highest level in two years, due to a 22.5% jump in electrical and electronics shipments, reported the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) last week.

But the July positive bump in exports reflected front-loading to beat pending US tariffs, and Malaysia's trade outlook for 2025 is still subject to downside risks, including progress of US-China trade talks and other tariff issues, said Singapore-based United Overseas Bank (UOB) last week, reported The Edge Malaysia, a Malaysian news portal.