By Chester TayMalaysia's trade surplus in August was smaller than expected, as trade with Asean countries dipped due to lower exports of crude petroleum, manufactured metal, chemicals, machinery and equipment. Nonetheless, Malaysia's trade surplus in August still recorded a growth of 20% on an on-year basis to 13.23 billion ringgit ($3.17 billion), Malaysia's Ministry of International Trade and Industry said Monday. The median forecast from a Wall Street Journal poll of nine economists was for a trade surplus of MYR17.95 billion. The trade surplus in July was MYR25.15 billion. Compared with the month before, Malaysia's exports fell 9.8% in August.

Source: Wall Street Journal September 28, 2020 04:18 UTC