KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s exports rose 12.1% in August from a year earlier, slightly above market expectations, government data showed on Thursday.

Exports had been expected to grow 11.8%, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

Malaysia’s economy likely grew 3.9% y/y in Q1

Imports in August grew 26.2% from a year earlier, data from the trade ministry showed, stronger than the 21.2% increase analysts had forecast in the poll.

Malaysia recorded a trade surplus of 5.67 billion ringgit ($1.33 billion) in August, well below the poll forecast of an 11 billion ringgit surplus.