FX.co ★ Malaysia Exports Unexpectedly Fall

Malaysia's exports surprisingly contracted by 3.5% year-on-year to MYR 126.6 billion in June 2025, reaching a four-month low and falling short of the anticipated 5.3% increase. This decline follows an upwardly revised 1.1% drop in May and represents the second consecutive month of reduced exports. The decrease was primarily attributed to a 9.3% reduction in shipments to China, Malaysia’s largest trading partner. This also marks the most significant decline in exports since December 2013, propelled by a substantial reduction in mining shipments, which fell by 28.7%, particularly due to a sharp decrease in LNG (-26.5%) and crude petroleum (-42.7%). Additionally, manufacturing sales saw a decline of 3.3%, impacted heavily by a 28.1% drop in petroleum products. Conversely, agricultural exports experienced a substantial rise of 17.5%, largely driven by increased demand for palm oil and its related products, which surged by 24.7%. Looking at export destinations, sales to Singapore declined by 16.9% and to China by 9.3%, while exports to the United States rose sharply by 16.9% as factories expedited shipments following President Trump’s announcement of a 90-day suspension on plans to impose a 24% tariff on Malaysia.