FX.co ★ Malaysia Imports Notch Record High

In October 2025, Malaysia's imports surged by 11.2% year-on-year, reaching an unprecedented MYR 129.33 billion. This marks an acceleration from a slightly updated growth rate of 7.2% in the previous month and significantly surpasses market projections of a 5.8% increase. This represents the swiftest growth observed since December 2024, indicating robust domestic demand as the year draws to a close. The notable increase in imports was driven by a sharp rise in capital goods (51.9%) and consumption goods (3.6%), although there was a decline in intermediate goods (-7.6%) and dual-use goods (-29.5%). In terms of sectors, manufacturing imports went up by 12.7%, with significant contributions from electronics and electrical products (30.6%) and metal manufacturing (13.7%). Conversely, imports in the agriculture sector decreased by 6.4%, largely due to a drop in natural rubber (-26.5%). The mining sector saw imports fall by 5.8%, pressured by declines in crude petroleum (-31.0%) and liquefied natural gas (-35.0%). Imports increased from countries such as China (34.7%), Japan (12.7%), Hong Kong (47.8%), and ASEAN nations (12.0%), while there was a reduction in imports from the United States (-8.8%), the European Union (-8.4%), and South Korea (-10.0%). From January to October, the total imports rose by 4.7%, amounting to MYR 1.19 trillion.