Malaysia’s current account remained in surplus in the second quarter of 2026 at RM10.766 billion, compared with RM15.157 billion in the first quarter, according to OpenDOSM’s balance-of-payments table.
The goods balance increased to a surplus of RM40.719 billion from RM33.597 billion. Services moved from a RM6.449 billion surplus to a RM656 million deficit.
Primary income recorded a deficit of RM27.160 billion, while secondary income was in deficit by RM2.136 billion. Those components explain why a large goods surplus does not translate into an equally large current-account surplus.
More than the merchandise-trade headline
The balance of payments records transactions between Malaysia and the rest of the world. The current account combines goods, services and income flows; it is not interchangeable with the monthly merchandise-trade balance.
Readers should also distinguish transactions during a period from the stock of external assets and liabilities at a particular date. The latter belongs to the international investment position. Mixing the two can produce misleading claims about how much new investment entered the country.