KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's exports in November 2017 expanded 14.4 percent year-on-year to 83.5 billion ringgit (20.92 billion U.S. dollar) on higher manufactured goods demand, Malaysia's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) said Friday.
The export growth was down from a 18.9-percent growth in October last year.
MITI said in a statement that manufactured goods exports, which accounted for 82.6 percent of Malaysia total export, increased by 18.2 percent year-on-year in November 2017.
The expansion of manufacturing sector was mainly supported by higher exports of electrical and electronic (E&E) products, chemicals and chemical products.
Exports for mining and agriculture goods, however, fell 0.9 percent and 2.5 percent respectively in November 2017.
Malaysia's total trade in November 2017 surged 14.8 percent year-on-year, buoyed by trade with trading partners including other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the European Union (EU), China, South Korea and the United States.
Malaysia's exports to ASEAN grew 18.3 percent, while exports to EU and U.S., rising 12.4 and 13.4 percent respectively. Malaysia's exports growth to China also remained resilient at 3.3 percent.
For the first eleven months of 2017, total trades surged 20.8 percent to 1.622 trillion ringgit, with exports and imports jumped 20.4 percent and 21.2 percent respectively.
Economists said that the exports growth for November 2017 showed Malaysia's exports remained steady, though it has been moderating in the second half of 2017.
"The exports growth may signal a resilient gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter," Affin Hwang Investment Bank Bhd chief economist Alan Tan told Xinhua.
Malaysia's third quarter GDP growth grew 6.2 percent, the fastest rate since the second quarter of 2014.
Tan expects Malaysia's export to grow 20 percent year-on-year in 2017 due to lower base in 2016. Meanwhile, the exports growth is projected to slow down to 7 percent in 2018, due to higher base in 2017.
"The global E&E demand will continue to support Malaysian exports, and mitigate the contraction for agricultural and mining products," he added.
RHB Research Institute's chief ASEAN economist Peck Boon Soon has upgraded his 2017 exports growth forecast to 19.5 percent, but maintained his exports growth forecast for 2018 at 10 percent.
"The U.S. tax cut has boosted the country's consumer consumption, and the Europe has upgraded its economic growth. These will continue to support Malaysia's exports," he told Xinhua.
