Malaysia’s Export, Import Prices Up 0.1 Pct And 0.3 Pct In February

KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 (Bernama) -- Malaysia’s export prices rose by 0.1 per cent to 151.2 points in February, compared to the previous month, while import prices climbed 0.3 per cent to 128.1 points, mainly contributed by mineral fuels, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin highlighted that the higher export prices were primarily driven by an increase in the indices of mineral fuels (2.5 per cent), food (0.7 per cent) and miscellaneous manufactured articles (0.6 per cent).

However, he said the export volume index fell 3.8 per cent, in line with the reduction in the index of mineral fuels (12.4 per cent), animal and vegetable oils and fats (5.0 per cent) as well as machinery and transport equipment (4.7 per cent).

“The seasonally adjusted export volume index was up 2.3 per cent to 162.8 points. Referring to the annual comparison, the unit value index and volume index went up by 2.8 per cent and 3.3 per cent, respectively,” he said in a statement today.

The index of mineral fuels (+2.0 per cent), miscellaneous manufactured articles (+0.4 per cent) and food (+0.1 per cent) all contributed to a 0.3 per cent increase in the import unit value index in February.

The import volume index was down by 11.6 per cent in February compared to the previous month, contributed by the decrease in the index of manufactured goods (17.9 per cent), machinery and transport equipment (15.9 per cent) and miscellaneous manufactured articles (11.4 per cent).

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The seasonally adjusted import volume index went down by 2.0 per cent to 208.7 points from 212.9 points, while a year-on-year comparison showed that the unit value index slipped by 1.4 per cent and the volume index rose by 7.0 per cent.

Malaysia's terms of trade dropped 0.2 per cent month-on-month to 118.2 points in February, driven by the decrease in the index of animal and vegetable oils and fats (2.0 per cent), machinery and transport equipment (0.5 per cent) and manufactured goods (0.1 per cent). However, the terms of trade climbed 4.2 per cent year-on-year.

-- BERNAMA