Malaysia’s exports rise faster in April; yet short of expectations

Malaysia’s exports rose at a faster rate in April than in March, albeit falling behind market expectations, due to rise in electrical and electronics shipments, official figures showed Friday.

However, the figures failed to match analysts’ anticipation as a fall in exports of liquefied natural gas and crude oil continued to weigh on overall shipments.

Malaysia's April exports surged 1.6 percent from a year earlier, missing the 2.0 percent growth expected by nine economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. In March, exports grew 0.2 percent, according to data released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia.

Imports declined 2.3 percent in April from a year earlier against economist’s predictions for a 0.5 percent increase. Imports were down y/y mainly due to decline in imports of intermediate goods and capital goods. Imports in March were down 5.5 percent.

The trade surplus narrowed to 9.1 billion ringgit (USD2.19 billion) in April from 11.2 billion ringgit the previous month. Economists had expected a trade surplus of 8.1 billion ringgit, the report said.