KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 2 — Malaysia’s export unit value index slipped 0.2 per cent month-on-month (m-o-m) in August 2020 to 109.7 points, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the fall was dragged mainly by the decreases in the index of mineral fuels (-2.7 per cent), machinery and transport equipment (-0.6 per cent), as well as and inedible crude materials (-0.6 per cent).
Similarly, he said the export volume index also dropped 14.4 per cent m-o-m in to 135.6 points in August 2020, attributable to the declines in the index of animal and vegetable oils and fats (-20.1 per cent), machinery and transport equipment (-18.4% per cent), as well as mineral fuels (-13.4 per cent).
In seasonally adjusted terms, the export volume index registered a drop of 12.5% to 134.5 points, he said.
“Compared to the previous year, the export unit value index dropped 4.9 per cent while the export volume index rose 2.1 per cent,” he said in a statement on the External Trade Indices (2010=100) August 2020 report released today,
Mohd Uzir said the import unit value index for August 2020 ticked up 0.1 per cent to 113.4 points, contributed by the increases in the index of mineral fuels (+1.3 per cent) and manufactured goods (+0.3 per cent).
In contrast, he said the import volume index shrank 2.3 per cent to 132.2 points, attributable to the declines in the index of manufactured goods (-11.6 per cent), mineral fuels (-9.4 per cent) as well as machinery and transport equipment (-4.4 per cent).
In seasonally adjusted terms, he said the import volume index for August 2020 dropped 2.5 per cent to 127.5 points.
“On a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis, both the import unit value and volume indices for August 2020 decreased 3.6 per cent and 3.0 per cent, respectively,” he said.
On the same note, DoSM also reported that Malaysia’s terms of trade registered a marginal fall of 0.1 per cent to 96.7 points compared with July 2020, while on a y-o-y basis, the terms of trade also shed 1.4 per cent from 98.1 points in August last year.
— Bernama
