KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 29 — Malaysia's exports rose for the fourth straight month in December, expanding 10.8 per cent from a year earlier on higher shipments of manufactured goods and agricultural products, particularly palm oil, government data showed on Friday.
The expansion beat the 6.6 per cent rise forecast by analysts surveyed by Reuters and was quicker than the 4.3 per cent growth posted in November.
Imports in December grew 1.6 per cent from a year earlier, rising for the first time after nine straight months of decline, data from the Statistics Department showed. In November, imports had contracted 9 per cent.
Malaysia's trade surplus in December widened to RM20.7 billion ($5.11 billion) from RM16.8 billion in November.
