Malaysia Mar exports up 8.4pc y/y

KUALA LUMPUR, May 7 (Reuters): Malaysia's exports in March rose by 8.4 per cent from a year earlier, in line with expectations, and the trade surplus that month was significantly higher than expected, data showed on Wednesday.

Imports rose 0.5 per cent from a year ago, below expectations, due to a 3.4 per cent drop in intermediate goods. A Reuters poll forecast a 8.5 per cent rise in exports and a 5.2 per cent rise in imports from March 2013.    

The March trade surplus was 9.6 billion ringgit ($3.0 billion), according to data from the Statistics Department. Fourteen economists had forecast a surplus of 7.4 billion ringgit, compared to 10.4 billion ringgit in February.