Malaysia Exports Below Forecast

Malaysia’s September exports rose 14.8% from a year earlier, slowing in pace for the second month in a row, despite strong demand for manufactured goods in China and Europe.

Export growth was below the 18% rise forecast by a Reuters poll, and sharply down from 21.5% in August and July’s 30.9%, Reuters reported.

Malaysia has seen double-digit growth in exports over the past nine months, peaking at 32.5% in May. Shipments of manufactured goods, which accounted for more than four-fifths of Malaysia’s total exports, were up 17.1% from a year earlier in September, data from the International Trade and Industry Ministry showed.

Most of the manufactured goods were electrical and electronic products. Shipments of agricultural goods, however, declined 1.8% from a year earlier, the data showed.

September’s imports grew 15.2% from a year earlier to 69.7 billion ringgit ($1.61 billion), down from the 22.6% growth posted in August. The trade surplus in September narrowed to 8.6 billion ringgit from August’s 9.9 billion ringgit.

Malaysia reports trade data in ringgit. The currency has been one of Asia’s best-performing ones this year, strengthening about 6% this year.

Exports to China remained robust, rising 27.1% from a year earlier, while those to the United States grew 10.7%. Shipments to the European Union rose 16.2%, with exports of electrical and electronic products rising 28.5% from a year earlier to 4.4 billion ringgit, the highest monthly export value ever recorded.