KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s terms of trade increased by 1.2 per cent month-on-month to 119.5 points in March 2025, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said that the trade expansion was driven by the increase in the index of mineral fuels (+2.0 per cent), machinery and transport equipment (+1.3 per cent) and food (+1.0 per cent),
"Meanwhile, Malaysia’s terms of trade edged up by 3.8 per cent year-on-year from 115.2 points in March of the previous year,” he said in a statement today.
Mohd Uzir said that Malaysia’s export prices in March 2025 were up by 0.2 per cent to 151.8 points from 151.4 points in the previous month.
"The export unit value index edged up by 0.2 per cent in March 2025 as compared to the previous month.
"This increase was primarily driven by an increment in the indices of food (+1.1 per cent), inedible crude materials (+0.9 per cent) and machinery and transport equipment (+0.8 per cent),” he said.
Likewise, he stated that the export volume index grew by 15.9 per cent in line with the increment in the indexes of machinery and transport equipment (+28.8 per cent), manufactured goods (+15.2 per cent) and miscellaneous manufactured articles (+7.1 per cent).
He added that the seasonally adjusted export volume index was down by 1.0 per cent from 162.8 points to 161.2 points.
"Referring to the annual comparison, the unit value index and volume index went up by 1.3 per cent and 5.4 per cent, respectively,” he said.
Mohd Uzir said that the import unit value index registered a 0.9 per cent decrease, from 128.1 points to 127.0 points.
"The index of mineral fuels (-2.7 per cent), machinery and transport equipment (-0.5 per cent) and chemicals (-0.4 per cent) contributed to a 0.9 per cent slip in the import unit value index in March 2025.
"However, the import volume index climbed by 7.6 per cent in March 2025 as compared to the previous month, contributed by the increment in the index of chemicals (+17.0 per cent), miscellaneous manufactured articles (+10.0 per cent) and machinery and transport equipment (+8.6 per cent),” he said.
He said that the seasonally adjusted import volume index went down by 7.3 per cent from 208.7 points to 193.4 points.
"A year-on-year comparison showed that the unit value index and volume index edged down by 2.4 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively,” he added. - Bernama
