Malaysia's Next Pressure Point Looms in LNG Risk, BofA Says

Malaysia’s current account surplus will probably narrow as liquefied natural gas prices drop, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, adding a new risk to the nation’s weakening economic outlook.

LNG prices may be down 50 percent by the middle of this year from last June, as they track oil with a lag of four to six months, according to Singapore-based Bank of America economist Chua Hak Bin. Such a decline would probably reduce Malaysia’s current account surplus by about 2.5 percent to 3 percent of gross domestic product, he wrote in a report Tuesday.