Malaysia's June trade surplus rose 5.6 percent from a year earlier to RM8.7 billion and was up 9.0 percent from the May outcome, official data showed Friday.

Exports for June were slightly lower at RM49 billion, down 0.4 percent from a year earlier and 1.3 percent from May.

June imports at RM40.33 billion fell 1.6 percent year-on-year and 3.3 percent month-on-month.

For the six months to June, the trade surplus was RM43.60 billion, down 10.4 percent as exports grew 1.1 percent to RM283 billion and imports expanded 3.5 percent to RM239.39 billion.