Malaysian exports witness sharpest fall since April 2015, beats market expectations

Exports in Malaysia witnessed the sharpest fall since April last year, largely beating what markets had initially anticipated.

Malaysia's exports in October fell 8.6 percent from a year earlier, the biggest drop since April 2015, data from the International Trade and Industry Ministry showed Wednesday. The government said the drop was "due to the high-base effect of October 2015". A Reuters poll had forecast a 5.8 percent decline for the month's shipments.

Annual exports of manufactured goods fell by 6.7 percent in October, while shipments of mining goods declined 34.8 percent, due to lower exports of liquefied natural gas and crude oil.

Malaysia's imports in October fell 6.6 percent from a year earlier, a sharp drop from September's 0.1 percent decline. The trade surplus in October widened to 9.6 billion ringgit (USD2.17 billion), from 7.6 billion ringgit the previous month. Exports to the United States fell 3.5 percent from a year earlier, while those to Europe declined 12 percent.

However, annual exports to China increased 3.4 percent, due to higher shipments of electrical and electronic products. Meanwhile, Markets in Malaysia have been among the worst-hit since Donald Trump's U.S. election victory last month.