Malaysia Trade Surplus Shrinks In March

(RTTNews) - The Malaysian foreign trade surplus decreased somewhat in March from a year ago as imports grew faster than exports, data from the statistical office showed on Monday.

The trade surplus dropped to MYR 24.6 billion in March from MYR 24.8 billion in the same month last year. Meanwhile, the surplus increased from MYR 16.7 billion in February. The expected surplus was MYR 15.0 billion.

Exports climbed 8.3 percent year-on-year in March, and imports logged a double-digit growth of 10.4 percent.

The overall export growth was mainly driven by a sharp upturn in re-exports. Imports of capital goods alone grew 24.7 percent, while those of intermediate and consumption goods fell by 1.1 percent and 7.8 percent, respectively.