Surprise jump in Malaysia's June exports

Unexpected increase: Exports rose 4.2% to RM351.21bil in the first half of the year, while imports grew by 8% to RM300.12bil

PETALING JAYA: Exports for June rose 5.4% to RM60.97bil compared with the same month a year ago on higher electrical and electronic (E&E) sales to Hong Kong, the United States, Japan, Vietnam and China.

Economists in a Bloomberg survey expected a median 3.1% gain in exports following a 6.7% surge in May. However, imports unexpectedly slowed to a 3.6% growth against median expectations of an 8.8% rise. They rose 16.2% in May.