KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia's export growth in July exceeded expectations, rising 30.9% from a year earlier, government data showed on Wednesday, on higher shipments of manufactured products and mining goods.
The pace of expansion beat the 23.1% rise forecast by a Reuters poll and tripled the 10% growth posted in June.
Shipments of manufactured goods, which accounted for more than four-fifths of Malaysia's total exports, were up 32.6% from a year earlier in July, data from the International Trade and Industry Ministry showed. Most of the manufactured goods were electrical and electronic products.
Exports of mining goods expanded 27.5% on higher prices and volumes of liquefied natural gas, the data showed.
July's imports grew 21.8% from a year earlier, sharply up from the 3.7% growth posted in June. Imports of intermediate and consumption goods rose but capital goods, which totalled 13% of total imports, declined by 16.5%.
Malaysia reports trade data in ringgit. The trade surplus in July narrowed to 8.0 billion ringgit (US$1.88 billion) from June's 9.9 billion ringgit.
Exports to China grew 28.8% from a year earlier, the ninth straight month of double-digit growth. Shipments to the United States rose 14.4%, while those to the EU grew 34.1%.
Malaysia's total trade surpassed the 1 trillion ringgit mark in the first seven months of the year, growing 22.7% from the corresponding period last year. Government data showed this was the fastest trade had surpassed the 1 trillion mark, two months earlier than usual.