KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 7): Malaysia’s November 2014 exports rose 2.1% to RM63.7 billion from a year earlier, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoS).

The increase was mainly due to higher exports of electrical and electronic products (+7.1% to RM23.0 billion),crude petroleum (+12.5% to RM2.8 billion) and timber and timber-based products (+0.1% to RM1.7 billion, according to a statement on its website today.

Malaysia's imports in November rose 0.1% from RM52.6 billion on-year due to higher imports of intermediate goods (+3.4% to RM31.4 billion), mainly contributed by increases in imports of industrial supplies, processed and fuel and lubricants,

The latest export figures beat a median forecast polled by Reuters, but import figures fell short.

Reuters reported Malaysia's exports in November likely fell 0.4 percent from a year earlier as falling crude prices and an oversupply of commodities affected exports.

Reuters poll also expected imports to rise 8.2 percent, as government-linked projects resumed in the second-half of 2014.

On a month-on-month comparison, Malaysia’s exports fell 2% from RM65.1 billion in November or was 3.3% lower in seasonally adjusted terms from October 2014.

The fall was mainly due to lower exports of petroleum products, which fell RM2.1 billion or 35.3% from RM5.9 billion due to the decrease in export volume (-36.0%) as average unit value grew 1.1%.

Malaysia’s total imports also fell 17.7% to RM52.6 billion in November from the preceding month.