Malaysia: Exports expanded to multi-month highs – UOB

UOB Group’s Senior Economist Julia Goh and Economist Loke Siew Ting comment on the recently published results from the Exports sector in Malaysia.

Key Takeaways

“Exports expanded at a stronger pace of 32.4% y/y in Nov (Oct: 25.5%) which was in line with our forecasts but higher than Bloomberg consensus (30%). Imports gained 38% y/y (Oct: 27.9%) Higher imports over exports led to narrower trade surplus of MYR18.9bn (Oct: MYR26.3bn).”

“Overall exports in Nov were lifted by robust shipments of electrical and electronic (E&E) products (17.4% y/y), petroleum products (111.6%), palm oil and palm-oil based agriculture products (97.4%), and LNG (99.5%).  Exports to key markets included ASEAN, China, USA, EU and Japan, which recorded double-digit growth.”

“With year-to-date (YTD) export growth of 25.7% y/y, this has surpassed our export target of 25%. Nevertheless, we expect a bumpy recovery in the coming months with a projected 2.0% export growth for 2022. The Omicron variant, ongoing supply-chain disruptions, and higher prices of traded goods could pose downside risks to the trade outlook. Domestically, worker shortages and the floods have dampened production in selected sectors and areas.”