Economists upbeat on Malaysia's trade growth momentum

KUALA LUMPUR: The handsome growth momentum of Malaysia's trade in January 2021 will likely continue for the remaining months of the year, riding on a consistent economic recovery following the global Covid-19 vaccination rollout, economists said.

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the country registered a positive growth despite various lockdown measures instituted across the globe.

“In that sense, it was a decent performance and it goes to show that the external sector would continue to be the key pillar for Malaysia’s economic growth in 2021, he told Bernama.

He said the fixed income markets have also seen rising bond yields, suggesting that rates could be higher, and implying be er days ahead.

“The vaccination programme will proceed smoothly and in a timely manner. If this happens, I suppose the economy reopening can be done in a convincing manner,” he said.

Earlier yesterday, Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM) chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said Malaysia’s trade surplus soared by 38.0 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM16.6 billion in January 2021, while total trade widened by 4.1 per cent y-o-y to RM162.6 billion.