Malaysia's manufacturing sales, a key component of the economy, fell 2.0 percent from a year earlier to RM44.41 billion in October, official data showed today.

The annual decline was mainly due to a 43.2 percent fall in the production of office, accounting and computing machinery, the statistics department said.

Television and radio receivers, sound or video recording or reproducing apparatus and associated goods slid 23.1 percent, it added.

The total October manufacturing sales were 3.2 percent lower compared to September and for the 10 months to October rose 1.21 percent to RM427.96 billion from the same period in 2006.