November trade surplus plunges on slowing exports

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s trade surplus fell sharply in November after hitting its highest-ever trade surplus a month earlier, as exports lagged behind imports, government data showed today.

November’s trade surplus stood at RM7.6 billion (US$1.84 billion), less than half the RM16.3 billion registered a month earlier.

Malaysia reports trade data in ringgit.

Total exports in November grew marginally by 1.6% from a year earlier, far short of the 6.6% forecast by economists, on a sharp drop in demand from China and a contraction in exports to the US of manufactured goods.

Total exports to China, a major trading partner, grew 3.9% annually in November on sustained demand for chemicals and chemical products, petroleum products and liquefied natural gas (LNG), the international trade and industry ministry said in a statement.

It was, however, a sharp drop from the 33% annual growth a month earlier.

Exports to the US contracted 3.6% on softer demand for manufactured goods, especially in the electrical and electronics sector.

Shipments of manufactured goods, which made up 83% of Malaysia’s November exports, rose 2.2% according to the ministry’s data.

Exports of mining goods rose 16.1% on higher prices of crude oil and LNG.

Low prices for palm oil and palm oil-based products led to a 17.6% decline in exports of agricultural goods in November.

The month also saw imports rising 5.0% year-on-year, a sharp drop from the 11.4% expansion in October, on slower expansion in local demand for intermediate goods while growth was marginal in the capital goods and consumption goods categories. -FMT