KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s monthly export and import unit value indices for September recorded positive growth of 1.4% and 0.6%, respectively, the Statistics Department (DoSM) said.
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the export unit value index increased 1.4% in October compared to the previous month, contributed by increases in the index of mineral fuels (+6.2%), animal and vegetable oils and fats (+3.3%) and chemicals (+0.9%).
Meanwhile, he said the export volume index rose 1.8% in the same month, reflected by increases in the index of manufactured goods (+8.1%), chemicals (+7.1%), and machinery and transport equipment (+4.1%).
“The seasonally adjusted export volume index fell 8% from 165.9 points to 152.6 points. On annual comparison, both export unit value and volume index grew 16.4% and 7.8%, respectively,” he noted.
As for the imports unit value index, he said the growth of 0.6% in October compared to the previous month was attributed to increases in the index of mineral fuels (+4.7%), manufactured goods (+0.04%), and machinery and transport equipment (+0.03%).
On the other hand, he said the import volume index increased 3.6% in October compared to the preceding month, contributed by increases in the index of mineral fuels (+8.2%), machinery and transport equipment (+4.6%) and manufactured goods (+3.7%).
“The seasonally adjusted import volume index in October dropped 0.8% from 160.9 points to 159.6 points.
“On a year-on-year basis, both the import unit value and volume indices expanded 7.5% and 19.2%, respectively,” he shared.
The DoSM also reported that Malaysia’s terms of trade increased by 0.8% month-on-month to 106.7 points in October.
The country’s terms of trade performance remained positive at 8.3% compared to 98.5 points in October of the previous year, it added. – Bernama, December 3, 2021