Malaysia’s exports fell in July, affected by softer global demand and lower commodity prices, the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) said on Friday.
MITI said in a statement that the country’s exports decreased by 13.1 percent year on year to 116.75 billion ringgit (25.15 billion U.S. dollars).
Its imports contracted by 15.9 percent to 99.66 billion ringgit. Total trade for the country also fell by 14.4 percent to 216.41 billion ringgit.
The country’s trade surplus in July, however, increased by 7.9 percent year on year to 17.09 billion ringgit.
Despite the decline in exports, MITI said Malaysia’s exports of electrical and electronic products remained robust while exports to major trading partners, notably China and the United States, rebounded in July.
For the period from January to July, Malaysia’s total trade was down by 6.1 percent to 1.51 trillion ringgit as compared to the same period of last year.
Its exports dropped by 5.9 percent to 820 billion ringgit, while imports fell by 6.5 percent to 684.65 billion ringgit.
The trade surplus for the period also shrank by 2.5 percent to 135.35 billion ringgit. (1 ringgit equals 0.22 U.S. dollars)