KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 — Malaysia’s latest key economic indicators had pointed to a favourable performance indicating continued recovery momentum, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the country’s export performance remained robust in December 2021 with export value above RM100 billion, the fourth consecutive month since September 2021, corresponding to favourable external and domestic economic activities.

"Exports in December 2021 once again broke its record, reaching RM123.8 billion and expanded by 29.2 per cent year-on-year.

"Simultaneously, imports also registered a strong growth of 23.6 per cent to RM92.9 billion as compared with December 2020,” highlighted Mohd Uzir in a statement on the Malaysian Economic Statistics Review Vol. 1/2022 released here today.

Adding to the remarkable performance of exports and imports, December 2021 total trade soared by 26.8 per cent to RM216.7 billion compared to the same month in 2020, bringing to the highest ever total trade of RM2.2 trillion for the year 2021.

Mohd Uzir also noted on the country’s Leading Index performance remained positive in November 2021, rising to 111.3 points from 109.4 points in November 2020, which indicates Malaysia’s economic performance continued picking up and recovering from Covid-19 disruptions.

"The continuous operation of economic activities may strengthen the domestic economy and subsequently create more jobs opportunities. Nevertheless, the challenges of the economic recovery path may persist with the presence of a new Omicron variant.

"Besides, the recent flood disasters that hit the country incurred a total loss equivalent to 0.4 per cent of the country’s nominal Gross Domestic Product,” he added. — Bernama