Malaysia's exports and imports declined at a faster-than-expected rate in October, figures from the Department of Statistics showed Wednesday.
Exports fell 8.6 percent year-over-year in October, exceeding economists' expectations for a decrease of 5.6 percent.
Shipments of LNG plunged 40.2 percent in October from a year ago and those of crude petroleum tumbled by 27.9 percent. At the same time, exports of electrical and electronic products grew 1.7 percent.
Imports dipped 6.6 percent annually in October, much faster than the expected fall of 0.1 percent.
On a monthly basis, exports rose 1.7 percent in October, while imports dropped by 1.7 percent.
The visible trade surplus of the country shrank to MYR 9.8 billion in October from MYR 12.1 billion in the corresponding month last year.
The expected surplus for the month was MYR 7.91 billion. In September, the surplus was MYR 7.6 billion.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com