Brunei Trade Surplus Widens

Brunei’s trade surplus increased to BND 514.6 million in August 2025 from BND 492.8 million in the same month a year earlier. Year-on-year, exports declined 11.6% to BND 1.11 billion, primarily due to lower shipments of mineral fuels (-9.3%), chemicals (-15.5%), and machinery and transport equipment (-39.9%). Key export destinations included Australia (21.6% of total shipments), China (18.2%), Singapore (16.0%), Japan (11.4%), and Taiwan (7.3%). Meanwhile, imports tumbled 21.9% to BND 597.1 million, mainly reflecting weaker demand for mineral fuels (-35.3%). Malaysia remained the top import source (16.5%), followed by the United Arab Emirates (16.3%), Australia (11.7%), China (11.7%), and Singapore (6.3%). For the first eight months of the year, the trade surplus fell slightly to BND 3.63 billion from BND 3.70 billion a year earlier.