KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Economists of research houses have foreseen Malaysia's exports to improve in the final quarter of 2023 after the country's exports fell at a slower rate of 4.4 percent in October.
Kenanga Research said in a note on Tuesday that Malaysia's 2023 exports forecast remains at a contract of 5.7 percent in anticipation of a slight recovery in the final quarter. From January to October, Malaysia's exports fell by 8 percent.
According to the research house, the weaker export performance was mainly due to the subdued export of commodity-related goods amid lower commodity prices and global trade activity, alongside the effect of the high base recorded last year.
"While we expect the export contraction will continue through the end of the year, we expect the extent of the slowdown to ease as the impact of the high base effect diminishes," it said.
Meanwhile, Maybank Investment Bank on Tuesday expects Malaysia's exports and imports to fall 8 percent and 7.5 percent this year.
According to the research house, the drastically slower declines in October's exports and imports partly point to the dissipating base effect, and this augurs well for Malaysia's economy in the fourth quarter.
Another investment and research group, the Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd, on the other hand, said in a note on Monday that it maintained its forecast that Malaysia's exports and imports will fall by 6.4 percent and 6.9 percent, respectively, in 2023.
However, it said factors that could weigh down on trade outlook among others are the significant slowdown in the advanced economies and escalation of geopolitical and trade tensions, which could adversely affect the stability of global trade flow and movement in global commodity prices. ■