Taiwan Dec exports beat forecasts as demand from US surges, slips from China
Reuters
Published Jan 09, 2024 04:14
By Liang-sa Loh and Faith Hung
TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's exports rose more than expected in December on stronger demand for high-tech products from the United States, but the recovery is expected to slow as the traditional peak year-end shopping season ends.
Exports rose 11.8% in value from a year earlier to $39.94 billion, the finance ministry said on Tuesday, compared with a 4.9% growth forecast in a Reuters poll, and a 3.8% gain in November.
The government had expected exports, a main driver of the island's economy, would return to growth by November, fueled by rising demand for artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, data centres, and automotive electronics.
"There is indeed some uncertainty of war for Taiwan's economy this year. But people in the industry tell us that because of the coming of AI, and demand for related products such as servers and chips is strong, which is a boom we can look forward to," economy minister Wang Mei-Hua told reporters earlier on Tuesday.
For January, the ministry forecast exports would rise between 20% and 24% from a year ago, mostly attributable to the Lunar New Year holidays falling later in the calendar, resulting in more working days this month than last year.
Weak global demand has prompted the Taiwan government to cut its 2023 economic growth forecast to 1.42%, the slowest pace in 14 years.
In December, Taiwan's total shipments of electronic components fell 1.2% from the year ago period to $15.9 billion, with semiconductor exports down -0.8%.
Taiwanese firms such as
Exports to the United States soared 49.7%, versus 33.1% growth in November.
China remained a major weak spot, however, as its economy struggles to gain traction. Taiwan's exports to China fell 6.4% in December from a year earlier to $13.4 billion, after the prior month's drop of 6.3%.
Taiwan's imports, often seen as a leading indicator of re-exports of finished products, slid 6.5% to $28.84 billion in December. That compared with economists' forecasts for a 7.3% fall.
Get The App
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.