KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's exports in August were up 21.5% from a year earlier to 82.2 billion ringgit (US$19.4 billion), beating expectations on the back of manufacturing sector and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, but were slower than the previous month.
The export growth exceeded the 19.2% forecast by a Reuters poll but was down from July's 30.9% growth.
The upward trend of manufactured goods exports continued in August with an expansion of 22.3% year-on-year. Growth was also driven by increased exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), government data showed on Friday.
Exports of mining goods grew 38.8%, accounting for 8.4% of Malaysia's total exports, the data showed.
August imports grew 22.6% from a year earlier to 72.4 billion ringgit, up from the 21.8% growth in July and the 21.0% growth projected in the poll.
The trade surplus in August widened to 9.9 billion ringgit (US$2.3 billion) from July's 8.0 billion ringgit.
Malaysia reports trade data in ringgit. The currency has been one of Asia's best-performing ones this year, strengthening about 6% this year.
Exports to China remained robust, rising 21.2% from a year earlier, while those to the European Union grew 21.6%. Shipments to the United States rose 14.5%.