Malaysia’s exports climbed unexpectedly in March from a year ago, preliminary figures from the Department of Statistics showed Thursday.
Exports rose 2.3 percent year-over-year in March, defying economists’ expectations for a 4.6 percent decline.
Shipments of electrical and electronics products surged 14.6 percent in March from the previous year and that for timber and timber-based products grew by 2.3 percent.
Imports increased 5.8 percent annually in March, much faster than economists’ expectations for a 1.0 percent rise. The expansion was attributed to higher imports of intermediate goods, capital goods and consumption goods.
On a monthly basis, exports jumped 25.0 percent in March and rose a seasonally adjusted 6.7 percent. Imports expanded 20.6 percent and dropped a seasonally adjusted 0.9 percent.
The trade surplus for March was MYR 7.8 billion, surpassing the expected surplus of MYR 5.2 billion. A year ago, the trade surplus was MYR 9.5 million.
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