Kuala Lumpur, 13 November 2026 – Malaysia’s wholesale and retail trade sales rose 15.9% from a year earlier to RM183.1 billion in September 2026, the Department of Statistics Malaysia reported on 13 November. Wholesale trade recorded the strongest increase, rising 25.3% to RM89 billion. Retail trade grew 6.9% to RM73.7 billion, while the motor vehicle segment advanced 13.4% to RM20.5 billion. The overall volume index rose 5.5%, well below the increase in sales value.
For Malaysian businesses and Asian investors, the gap between value and volume is the key to reading the release. The figures show that more trade took place in volume terms, but the headline sales increase also reflects changes in prices and the mix of goods sold. Petroleum products helped lift the wholesale result. That makes the 15.9% figure a measure of turnover across the three segments, not a measure of how much more households bought.
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