Imports fell 12.5% in August, exports down 0.8%
05.10.2019 (The Star Online) - KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian imports fell by the most since 2009 in August as demand for capital goods waned, suggesting the nation’s economic growth will cool in the months ahead.
Imports slid 12.5% in August from a year ago, trailing the 8% drop forecast by economists in a Bloomberg survey, according to official data released yesterday. Exports shrank 0.8%, missing analysts’ estimates for a 2.7% gain.
The data could signal that the US-China trade war is taking a mounting toll on the economy. Second-quarter growth accelerated to 4.9% from a year earlier, the quickest pace in more than a year, but economists have warned that rising global risks will weigh on exports and consumption for the rest of the year.
Bernama reported that Malaysia’s total trade stood at RM151.8 billion in August 2019, lower by RM10.7bil, or 6.6% as compared to August 2018, said Department of Statistics yesterday.
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said exports decreased marginally by 0.8% in August 2019 to RM81.36bil year-on-year (y-o-y) while re-exports was valued at RM13.4bil, registering a decline of 0.3% y-o-y and accounted for 16.5% of total exports.
“Domestic exports also declined by 0.8% or RM581.7 mil to RM67.9bil. Imports also registered a decrease of 12.5% y-o-y to RM70.4 bil, ” he said in a statement yesterday.
The department said the decline in exports was due to lower exports to Hong Kong (-RM911.5mil), Singapore (-RM844.9mil), Australia (-RM818.1mil), Taiwan (-RM690.2mil) and Thailand (-RM382.1mil).
Meanwhile, lower imports were mainly from China (-RM1.9bil), the European Union (- RM1.6bil), Singapore (-RM1.6bil), Taiwan (-RM1.4bil) and Saudi Arabia (- RM942.1mil).
The main products which contributed to the decrease in exports were electrical and electronic products (-RM2.4bil), crude petroleum (-RM1.3bil) and liquefied natural gas (-RM366.6mil).
However, increases were recorded for these products; palm oil and palm oil-based products (+RM844.3mil), refined petroleum products (+RM349.6mil), timber and timber-based products (+RM34.5mil) and natural rubber (+RM12.6mil).
Meanwhile, imports by end-use recorded a decrease for all main categories which are intermediate goods (-RM6.3bil), capital goods (-RM3.6bil) and consumption goods (-RM909.8mil).