Malaysia exports sharply plunge 4.5%

This is the worst performance since September 2009, following the 2.6% fall in July.

According to OSK-DMG, exports dipped a sharper 4.5% yoy in Aug as compared to the revised 2.6% fall in Jul – the second straight month that exports have declined and the worst performance since Sep 2009.

Here's more from OSK-DMG:

This dip was worst that what market and we had been (-1.7% and -0.5% respectively). Imports expanded at a slower pace of 2.8% yoy in Aug, from 9.5% in Jul. With exports declining at a faster pace and imports growing more slowly, the trade surplus ballooned to RM7.1b in Aug from RM3.6b in Jul.

A breakdown by products showed that the weak performance was largely due to a 5.2% yoy fall in electrical & electronics products (E&E) shipments - accounting for nearly a third of exports, though this was a smaller drop than Jul’s 4.8% decline.

Also down were crude petroleum (-28.8%), chemical (-12.2%) and palm oil (-27.2%) exports . On the bright side, exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) rebounded by 38.3% yoy in Aug after contracting by 26.9% in Jul, while refined petroleum products rose 38.1%.

Weak external demand from major export markets continued to weigh on exports with shipments to China, EU, Thailand and India all declining by 10.6%, 24.2%, 27.6% and 5.1% yoy respectively in Aug. Still growing, albeit at a slower pace, were exports to Singapore and the US (up 7.3% and 4.2% yoy respectively), while exports to Japan rebounded 15.4% yoy in Aug.

The lackluster import performance was underpinned by continued weakness in intermediate goods imports, which fell a larger 4.1% yoy in Aug as compared to Jul’s 2.9%. This probably reflected the cutback in domestic E&E production as a result of the weak global demand. While imports of capital and consumer goods continued to rise by 12.2% and 6.9% yoy in Aug, they were at slower than Jul’s 34.7% and 14.2%.