Malaysia's exports decreased sharply in April at a faster-than-expected pace, figures from the Department of Statistics showed Friday.
Exports plunged 8.8 percent year-over-year in April, surpassing economists' expectations for a 5.5 percent decline.
Shipments of electrical and electronics products, which accounted for 34.8 percent of total exports, fell 3.0 percent annually in April. Exports of refined petroleum products tumbled by 48.2 percent, due to the decrease in both export value and average unit value.
Imports also dipped 7.0 percent in April from the previous year, defying economists' expectations for a 0.9 percent increase. The decrease in imports was mainly attributed to intermediate goods and capital goods.
On a monthly basis, exports declined 9.2 percent and slipped a seasonally adjusted 3.4 percent. Imports went down 8.8 percent and fell a seasonally adjusted 3.4 percent.
The visible trade surplus of the country shrank to MYR 6.9 billion in April from MYR 8.75 billion in the corresponding month last year. Economists had expected a surplus of MYR 6.0 billion. In March, the surplus was MYR 7.8 billion.
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