Exports rose 10.9 percent to 42.7 billion ringgit ($11.2 billion) from a year earlier, the trade ministry said today in a faxed statement in Kuala Lumpur. That was faster than April's revised gain of 9.8 percent and exceeded the median 8.9 percent increase forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 11 economists. Oil and gas exports ``continue to surprise on the upside,'' said Song Seng Wun, an economist at G.K. Goh Holdings Ltd. in Singapore. ``You've got demand being fairly strong, so basically Malaysia is just trying to get as much out from the ground or the sea, and that's what we are seeing presently.'' Malaysia, a net oil exporter, is benefiting from record high oil prices, which helped state petroleum company Petroliam Nasional Bhd. post a record net profit of 35.6 billion ringgit in the year ended March. Improving overseas demand for semiconductors is also helping the $118 billion economy, which relies on computer chips and other electronics for half its export revenue. Southeast Asia's third-largest economy is forecast to grow by as little as 5 percent this year, compared with 7.1 percent in 2004, the central bank said on March 23. Crude oil exports jumped 41 percent in May from a year earlier. Sales of liquefied natural gas rose 6.1 percent. Petroleum accounted for 5.5 percent of Malaysia's exports and natural gas 3.6 percent during the month. Sales of refined petroleum products surged 27 percent. Crude Oil Crude oil prices have risen this year on concern global fuel supplies aren't enough to meet demand in the fourth quarter, when consumption peaks because of the northern hemisphere winter. Crude oil for August delivery in New York reached a record $60.95 on June 27. The spot price for Malaysia's benchmark Tapis crude oil has surged 43 percent in the last year, to $56.93 a barrel on July 1. At the end of May, the price was 23 percent higher than a year earlier. The output of oil and other minerals by producers including Petroliam Nasional declined 1.3 percent in April from a year earlier, after growing 6 percent in March. Production may have rebounded in May, and oil exports should help lift June and July exports, said Song. Shipments of semiconductors, hard disks and other electrical and electronics products rose 8.2 percent in May. Electronics Exports to the U.S., Malaysia's largest overseas market, rose 17 percent to 8.55 billion ringgit in May compared with a year earlier. Shipments to the world's largest economy were bolstered by higher exports of electronics, oil and wood products, the ministry said. Malaysia's technology exports are being held up by a weak currency and demand for parts from new products, Song said. ``Disk-drive makers have in the first half of the year been benefiting from the surge in output of MP3 players'' and demand for laptop computers and game consoles, he said. Intel Corp., Motorola Inc. and 16 other U.S. electronics makers in Malaysia who account for a fifth of the nation's exports expect sales this year to grow 10.3 percent, better than an earlier estimate, the Kuala Lumpur-based American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce said June 27. The need for chips in new electronic gadgets may help increase demand for semiconductors this year, countering the impact of rising oil prices on consumer spending, the Semiconductor Industry Association said on June 8. Global chip sales are expected to rise 6 percent this year, beating an earlier forecast, because of demand for personal computers and mobile phones, the association said. Ringgit ``High oil prices have helped to boost the value of our exports'' while ``the undervalued ringgit has helped us by making our exports cheaper,'' said Hamdan Yusoff, an economist at TA Securities Sdn. in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia's ringgit, which is pegged at 3.8 to the dollar, has tracked the U.S. currency's 26 percent decline against the Euro since January 2002, and a 15 percent drop versus the yen. Malaysia's shipments to Southeast Asia, the European Union, Japan, India, Hong Kong and the Middle East also rose. Exports to China fell 1.7 percent on lower petroleum and electronics sales. Imports increased 14.1 percent to 36.1 billion ringgit in May, as intermediate imports, which account for 71 percent of total imports, rose 12.5 percent. Capital goods imports surged 26.4 percent while consumption goods purchases increased 10.5 percent. The trade surplus narrowed to 6.54 billion ringgit from 6.83 billion ringgit a year earlier, the ministry said. For the first five month of the year, exports rose 12.3 percent, while imports grew 9.7 percent. The trade surplus widened 24 percent to 40 billion ringgit. PIN/Bloomberg