Malaysia's trade surplus continued to shrink in March as exports to this country's top trading partner, the United States, fell in line with a weakening economy, figures released today showed.

The surplus in March hit RM7.98 billion, 22 percent higher from the same period last year on modest exports.

But the March trade surplus was down 12 percent from February and fell 17.9 percent from January due to a slowdown in exports of electronic and electrical goods to the United States.

Exports totalled RM51.57 billion, a 5.3 percent increase from March 2007 but rose 9.5 percent from February 2008.

"Major product sectors which contributed to the increase in exports were palm oil, crude petroleum, refined petroleum products, manufacturers of metal and liquefied natural gas," the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said.

March imports expanded by 2.6 percent from last year to RM43.59 billion and were 14.8 percent higher against imports in February.

Malaysia's exports to the United States, its main trading partner, fell to RM6.33 billion in March compared to RM1 8.1 billion in the same period last year on lower exports of electrical and electronic products, the ministry said.

Exports to the United States in February was RM6.04 billion down from RM7.17 billion in January.

-AFP