Meanwhile, the import unit value index decreased by 1% to 129.6 points from 130.9.

Chief statistician Uzir Mahidin said the drop in the export unit value index in December 2023 versus November 2023 was led by a decrease in the index of animal and vegetable oils and fats (-3.6%), mineral fuels (-2.4%) and manufactured goods (-0.5%).

“At the same time, the export volume index went down by 1.8% in line with the decrease in the index of mineral fuels (-14.8%), food (-8%), and chemicals (-3.9%),” he said in a statement today.

Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted export volume index declined by 9.3% to 140.9 points from 155.4.

On an annual comparison, the unit value index grew by 2.4% and the volume index decreased by 12%.

Uzir said the 1% fall in the import unit value index in December 2023 was due to a decrease in the index of mineral fuels (-4.5%), machinery and transport equipment (-0.5%), and chemicals (-0.5%).

He added that the import volume index also dropped by 1.6% in December 2023 versus the previous month, due to the contraction in the chemicals (-6.3%), machinery and transport equipment (-3.8%), and miscellaneous manufactured articles (-1.2%) indices.

“The seasonally adjusted import volume index edged up by 0.2% to 188.4 points from 188.1 points.

“The year-on-year (y-o-y) comparison showed that the import unit value index shrank by 0.3%, and the volume index rose by 3.4%,” Uzir said.

Additionally, DOSM said Malaysia’s terms of trade expanded by 0.1% month-on-month to 114.6 points in December 2023, driven by the increase in the index of mineral fuels (+2.2%), food (+0.9%), and inedible crude materials (+0.8%).

“On a y-o-y basis, there was a 2.7% growth in its terms of trade, rising from 111.6 points in December 2022,” it said.