KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's exports rose at a much slower annual pace for a second consecutive month in December, government data showed on Wednesday, as commodity prices and shipment volumes fell.
Exports expanded 4.7 percent in December from a year earlier, widely missing the 12.4 percent growth forecast by a Reuters poll, and falling sharply from November's 14.4 percent growth.
Malaysia recorded double-digit growth in exports throughout 2017, except in June and December.
December's export growth was driven by higher shipments of electrical and electronic products, liquefied natural gas and crude oil, data from the statistics department showed.
Shipments of palm oil and palm oil-based products, however, fell 8.6 percent from a year earlier, the data showed.
Import growth was 7.9 percent in December, sharply down from the 15.2 percent expansion posted in November.
Imports of capital goods rose, but those of intermediate goods and consumption goods declined 0.7 and 2.6 percent respectively.
Trade surplus in December narrowed to 7.3 billion ringgit ($1.87 billion) from 10 billion ringgit in the previous month.
Malaysia's total trade surged 19.4 percent to 1.8 trillion ringgit ($460.36 billion) in 2017, its best performance in 13 years, the International Trade and Industry Ministry said in a statement.
Malaysia reports trade data in ringgit. The currency was one of Asia's best performers last year, strengthening about 12 percent.
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