KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's exports fell in August for the first time in six months, hit by declining shipments of palm oil and slowing demand from the United States, government data showed on Friday.
Exports fell 0.3% in August from a year earlier, sharply below the 5.7% rise forecast by a Reuters poll and down from July's 9.4% growth.
It was the first annual decline since February, when exports fell 2%. Shipments of manufactured goods, which account for about 84% of Malaysia's total exports, rose 1.8% year-on-year in August, slowing from a 12.6% annual rise the previous month, the International Trade and Industry Ministry said in a statement.
Exports of mining goods rose 5.5% from a year earlier in August, the ministry's data showed. But agricultural exports declined sharply, falling 20.8% year-on-year, on lower volumes and prices of palm oil.
Imports in August remained robust, rising 11.2% from a year earlier, up slightly from the 10.3% growth seen in July.
Malaysia reports trade data in ringgit. The trade surplus in August shrunk to 1.6 billion ringgit ($386.2 million) from 8.3 billion ringgit the previous month. Malaysia's exports to the US fell 2% year-on-year in August, amid lower demand for electrical and electronic goods, palm oil and transport equipment.