Chief statistician Uzir Mahidin said the drop in the export unit value index was led by the decrease in the index of mineral fuels (-2.8%) and manufactured goods (-0.2%), as well as machinery and transport equipment (-0.2%).

“However, the export volume index went up by 4% in line with the increase in the index of mineral fuels (+30.4%), manufactured goods (+9.6%), and chemicals (+2.4%),” he said in a statement.

The seasonally adjusted export volume index grew by 16.1% to 163.5 points from 140.8 points previously, he said.

On an annual comparison, the unit value index and volume index increased by 3.1% and 5.4%, respectively.

Meanwhile, Uzir said the import unit value index decreased by 0.1% to 128.5 points from 128.7 points previously, contributed by the decline in the index of mineral fuels (-2.6%), inedible crude materials (-0.3%) and manufactured goods (-0.2%).

The import volume index grew by 5.6% in January 2024 as compared to the previous month, attributed to the increment in the index of food (+20.8%), manufactured goods (+13.6%), and mineral fuels (+6%).

“The seasonally adjusted import volume index edged up by 9.8% to 208.4 points from 189.8 points.

“The year-on-year (y-o-y) comparison showed that the import unit value index and volume index rose by 0.4% and 18.5%, respectively,” he said.

In addition, Malaysia’s terms of trade dropped by 0.4% month-on-month to 114.5 points in January 2024, driven by the decrease in the index of animal and vegetable oils and fats (-1.3%), machinery and transport equipment (-0.4%) and mineral fuels (-0.2%).

The terms of trade grew by 2.7% y-o-y in January 2024 from 111.5 points in the same month last year.