MALAYSIA’S TRADE SURPLUS FALLS TO NEAR ZERO IN APRIL

PREMIUM CONTENT. To continue reading please login, or click on SUBSCRIBE above.

June 7, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia’s export growth for April has surprised on the down side, with import growth stronger than expected, bringing the trade surplus to the lowest level since November 1997. Export growth fell 3.3% y/y from -2.9% y/y the previous month, the third consecutive month of contraction On a product basis, weakness was fairly broad-based, with manufactured goods down 1.5% y/y driven by reduced shipments of electrical and electronic products. Commodity shipments of crude and petroleum products, LNG, and palm oil were also notably weaker on a volume basis compounded by their decline in value.