KUALA LUMPUR, July 4: Malaysia's May trade surplus fell 1.25 per cent to 7.89 billion ringgit ($2.3 billion) but was up 35 per cent compared with the April outcome, official data showed on Wednesday.

Exports for May rose 7.4 per cent from a year earlier to 49.56 billion ringgit and were up 3.4 per cent from April while imports were up 3.5 per cent to 41.67 billion ringgit with the month-on-month gain at 3.4 per cent.“It was the highest monthly exports recorded in the last five months,” the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said.

“Major (export) sectors which registered double-digit growth from the previous month were crude petroleum, scientific equipment, liquefied natural gas and electrical products,” it said.—AFP