KL records trade surplus

KL records trade surplus

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia recorded a trade surplus in July for the 33rd consecutive month, the Statistics Department said Friday.

The figure of 4.0 billion ringgit (US$1.05 billion) was down compared to the 4.9 billion ringgit the previous month and 5.9 billion in July 1999, as imports increased.

The department said in a statement that exports worth 32.7 billion ringgit rose 15.8 percent from July 1999 while imports of 28.7 billion increased by 28.4 percent from a year earlier.

But it said 90 percent of the imports were intermediate and capital goods, used by manufacturers, rather than consumer goods.

Electrical and electronic products accounted for almost 59 percent of total exports.

For the first seven months, the trade surplus was 33.0 billion ringgit compared to 39.6 billion in the same period in 1999.