Malaysia July exports climb the most in over a year on China surge, but trade surplus narrows

Malaysia July exports climb the most in over a year on China surge, but trade surplus narrows
Business & Markets 2013
Written by Reuters
Friday, 06 September 2013 15:54

* July exports up 4.5 pct y/y vs Reuters poll f'cast 0 pct
* Imports up 6.2 pct y/y vs 0.1 pct forecast
* Trade balance 2.9 bln rgt, vs 3.9 bln rgt f'cast
* Exports to China climb 17.5 pct y/y; U.S down 11.3 pct y/y

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 6): Malaysia's exports in July surged 4.5 percent from a year earlier, the strongest percentage rise since June 2012, as demand from China, Japan and most of Southeast Asia picked up, government data showed on Friday.

The trade-reliant country's export performance for the month beat economsts' expectations for zero growth and was also the best so far this year, thanks to more shipments of liquefied natural gas as well as electrical and electronic products.

But imports also rose strongly by 6.2 percent compared to the same month a year ago and narrowed Malaysia's trade surplus to 2.9 billion ringgit, according to data from the Statistics Department.

Economists had expected imports to grow just 0.1 percent, and a trade balance of 3.9 billion ringgit compared with 4.3 billion ringgit in June.

For a graphic on Malaysia's exports and imports, please click: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]