Malasia Balanza Comercial

Malaysia's trade surplus widened to MYR 19.2 billion in December 2024 from a marginally revised MYR 11.8 billion in the same month of 2023, easily surpassing market estimates for a gain of MYR 16.6 billion. It was the largest trade surplus since September 2023, as exports grew more than imports. Exports jumped by 16.9% yoy to a 27-month high of MYR 138.5 billion, accelerating from a downwardly revised 3.9% gain in November and beating estimates of 9%, mainly boosted by sales of manufacturing (18.5%) and agriculture (28.9%), while mining & quarrying fell (-5.1%). Meantime, imports rose by 11.9% to a four-month peak of MYR 119.3 billion, the fastest growth in four months and much more than forecasts of 3.3%, due to rises in capital goods (41.5%), consumption goods (11.9%), and intermediate goods (1.4%). For the full year of 2024, the trade surplus plunged by 36.4% from the previous year to MYR 136.9 billion, as imports (13.2%) rose much faster than exports (9.3%).