RHB | Malaysia | Current Account Surplus Narrowed Further In The 4Q, 13 Feb 2015

Economic Research	13 Feb 2015
Malaysia
Economic Highlights
Current Account Surplus Narrowed Further In The 4Q The current account surplus in the balance of payments fell by MYR1.5bn to MYR6.1bn in 4Q, after dropping to MYR7.6bn in 3Q and compared with a surplus of MYR16.0bn in 2Q. This was due to larger deficits in the services and income accounts, but were mitigated by a larger surplus in the merchandise trade account and a smaller deficit in the current transfer account during the quarter. The financial account also recorded a larger outflow of MYR24.4bn in 4Q, compared with an outflow of MYR2.8bn in 3Q. The deterioration was mainly due to higher net outflow of portfolio investment on account of higher portfolio investment outflows by foreign funds. For the full-year, the current account of the balance of payments recorded a larger surplus of MYR49.5bn or 4.6% of GDP in 2014 (+4.8% of GNI), compared with a surplus of MYR39.9bn or 4.0% of GDP in 2013 (+4.2% of GNI). Economist:  Peck Boon Soon  | +603 9280 2163 Economist:  Shafizal Shafaai  | +603 9280 2179