Malaysia Exports Rise Faster In March

(RTTNews) - Malaysia's trade surplus rose in March with exports and imports increasing at faster paces, data from the statistical office showed on Monday.

Exports gained 25.4 percent year-on-year in March, following a 16.8 percent rise in February. Economists had expected a growth of 12.5 percent.

Imports increased 29.9 percent year-on-year in March, following an 18.3 percent growth in the previous month. Economists had forecast a rise of 15.7 percent.

The trade surplus increased to MYR 26.700 billion in March from MYR 24.204 billion in the same month last year. In February, the surplus was MYR 19.814 billion.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, exports rose 10.8 percent monthly in March and imports gained 13.8 percent.

In the first quarter, exports increased 22.2 percent yearly and imports grew 25.2 percent.