Malaysia's March exports surge 31% y-o-y, fastest in nearly four years

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia's exports jumped 31 per cent in March from a year earlier, rising at their fastest pace in nearly four years, as the Southeast Asian country continued to shake off the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, government data showed on Wednesday.

The jump last month was the highest since May 2017, when exports had risen 32.5 per cent, and beat analysts' expectations of a 22.9 per cent growth. In February, exports grew 17.6 per cent.

March imports rose 19.2 per cent from a year earlier, compared to a 12.7 per cent rise in the previous month, data from the Statistics Department showed. Analysts were expecting an 18 per cent expansion.

Malaysia's trade surplus widened to RM24.2 billion (S$7.83 billion) last month from RM17.9 billion in February. Analysts had estimated it at RM18.8 billion.

REUTERS