KUALA LUMPUR (March 5): RHB Research Institute Sdn Bhd said Malaysia’s exports slowed in January as earlier frontloading activities waned and momentum eased further.

In an economics view note today, RHB’s Vincent Loo Yeong Hong said that as expected, trade momentum slowed further due to uncertainties over the US-China trade war.

Moreover, he said importers holding back on capital outlays is another indicator of weaker exports in the months ahead.

“We expect export growth to decelerate further to 4% in 2019, (2018: +6.7%), on weaker global trade outlook and ongoing slowdown in China.

“This translates into slower growth of 4.6% for 2019 (2018: +4.7),” he said.